The First Nations Tax Commission (FNTC), the Tulo Centre of Indigenous Economics and Thompson Rivers University (TRU) have created a working relationship to develop a certificate program in First Nation tax administration.
This program will provide the requisite skills to operate a property taxation system using the First Nations Fiscal and Statistical Management Act (FSMA). It will teach students how to establish effective property taxation policies that can be used to promote economic development and economic capacity building. It will teach students a number of skills required to administer and manage a First Nation property tax system. This includes how to establish the legal framework to support First Nation taxation, how to set tax rates, development cost charges and business taxes, how to ensure appeal processes are fair and transparent, how to operate administrative software, how to administer, collect and enforce the payment of taxes, how to prevent and resolve disputes with taxpayers and other governments, how to develop a successful long term service agreement with a third party, and how to plan for and finance long term economic infrastructure projects.
The main objectives of this program are: 1. To build capacity in First Nation tax administrators to fully utilize the new powers within the FSMA 2. To enhance capacity for economic development and build infrastructure on First Nation lands. The Certificate in First Nation Tax Administration (CFNTA) and its students are at the forefront of property taxation on First Nation lands. Graduates of this program will be prepared to administer a high quality First Nation property taxation system. The courses in this Certificate are offered through the Face-to-Face Format or the Online Format.
First Nation property taxation is an optional legislative power that a First Nation may choose to exercise. Property tax is a tax on real property, consisting of land and the improvements on the land. On reserve, taxable properties include residential leases, buildings, commercial leases, farming permits, pipelines, transmission lines, production facilities, towers and railways. First Nation tax authorities levy and collect taxes in the same manner as other local governments throughout Canada. The First Nation Tax Administrator is the person responsible for the administration of property taxation, taxpayer relations, property tax collections, and the enforcement of payment under the law. Property taxation on First Nation lands is completed in annual cycles. While the timing of these cycles may vary slightly by province or territory, the main elements are consistent across Canada and include: 1. Assessment on First Nation Lands 2. Setting the Budget and Tax Rate 3. Tax Collection and Enforcement 4. Ongoing Taxpayer Relations
The CFNTA is designed to transfer skills, knowledge and best practices to First Nations who currently are, about to be, or are interested in, implementing a property taxation system. The Program is available in both an online and a face-to-face (F2F) setting and is designed to help participants develop an understanding of and skill set required to run a property taxation system. This program, developed and taught by industry leaders, includes real life case studies, relevant multimedia presentations and state of the art activity-based learning. Students are taught with quality real world information and are given opportunities to practice what they have learned in the classroom setting. This approach is intended to impart practical knowledge and confidence, ensuring that students acquire core knowledge and skills needed to implement and run a property taxation system. There are varied and diverse requirements of First Nations and tax systems across Canada and the CFNTA has been developed with this in mind. The course material considers the differences when they occur and ensures the students are aware of the differences.
This certificate comprises of eight courses which provide a general understanding of the issues in First Nation property tax administration and is intended for First Nation property tax administrators, persons working for First Nations in economics development and/or property taxation, persons with interest in the field, persons working for firms desiring to do business on First Nation lands and persons working for other governments with an interest or requirement to work with First Nation property tax systems. In addition, participants must be knowledgeable about the Internet, know how to use email and browse the web, and be conversant with computer technology in general. Program participants must also have fluency in the English language before entering the program.
Benefits to the Participants As the only property tax administration program for First Nations, this certificate provides many personal benefits including: • career advancement • personal development • flexible schedule and delivery • ability to continue working while you earn your certificate • small class sizes • get to know other students and maintain important professional connections • learn how to bring all of the components together to excel at property tax administration • be great at your job • contribute to the success of your community Benefits to Your First Nation As the only property tax administration program for First Nations, this certificate provides many community benefits including: • trust that you have a sound property tax system • maximize benefits from FSMA legislation • ability to make tax and public policy decisions that support economic development • attain a competitive advantage and leadership position in the area of economic development • develop methods to deliver quality information • provide services and certainty to investors • build a competitive economic infrastructure • establish an attractive investment climate on reserve
This program has no admission requirements. However, students are required to meet the prerequisite of the courses in the program. In order for students to be successful in the program the following are required to be completed in addition to the courses listed in the program: • B or better in Principles of Math 11 or Applications of Math 12, or MATH 051, or equivalent; • 73% on the combined English 12 and Government exam (within the last five years), or Level 4 on the composition section of the LPI (within the last two years), or completion of ENGL 060, or completion of CESL 053, CESL 054 and CESL 057 with a grade of C+ or better. • Basic computer literary with Microsoft office applications such as word and excel spreadsheets. Upgrading can be done by taking COMP 040 and COMP 050 or equivalents. These are highly recommended but not required.
This course is an introduction to First Nation taxation under the authority of the FSMA. It will focus on the economic and fiscal rationale of the FSMA and the workings of the FSMA. It will introduce the FNTC and the other FSMA institutions – the First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA), the First Nations Statistics Institute (FNSI) and the First Nations Financial Management Board (FMB). 2 credits. Prerequisite: None
This course is a detailed overview of establishing property tax rates through a local services budget. It will focus on estimating local service costs, creating preliminary budgets and working with the council. It will also focus on estimating local revenues and determining, where applicable, tax rate multiples. Although it is intended for First Nation property tax administrators using the FSMA authority, it is applicable to any local government administration. Part of the course will be devoted to using a custom spreadsheet application for local government budgeting and tax rate setting. 2 credits. Prerequisites: Introduction to First Nation Taxation.
This course is an introduction to property markets and property assessment. It will focus on property assessments and assessment appeals in Canada and under the authority of FSMA or s. 83 of the Indian Act. It will discuss the FSMA regulatory requirements for assessments and assessment appeals. It is relevant to First Nation and local government tax administrations. 3 credits. Prerequisites: Introduction to First Nation Taxation.
This course is about managing a First Nation and/or local government tax administration system. It will focus on taxpayer notification, and local revenue billing, collecting and enforcement. Best practices from systems across Canada will be presented along with the regulatory requirements associated with the FSMA. A substantial portion of the course will be devoted to using the FNTC’s specialized software for local revenue administration. 3 credits. Prerequisites: Introduction to First Nation Taxation, Establishing First Nation Tax Rates and Expenditures.
This course is about establishing a mutually beneficial working relationship between First Nation tax authorities and taxpayers. It will focus on interest based negotiations, communication templates for taxpayers and media and best practices in taxpayer relations. It will also provide an overview of the informal and formal dispute resolution processes related to FSMA and the FNTC. 2 credits. Prerequisites: Introduction to First Nation Taxation, Establishing First Nation Tax Rates & Expenditures, Assessment and Assessment Appeals, Administration: Tax Notices, Collection & Enforcement.
This course is about developing service and joint agreements with local governments and/or private partners. It will focus on local service agreements between two local governments or local service agreements private contracts. It will also focus on the delivery of local services or the construction of local infrastructure through public private partnerships. The course is intended for First Nation and local government tax administrators. It will utilize the FNTC’s spreadsheet application to assist service agreements negotiation. 2 credits. Prerequisites: Introduction to First Nation Taxation, Establishing First Nation Tax Rates and Expenditures.
This course is about developing a fair and transparent development cost charge (DCC) system for First Nations or local governments. It will focus on creating DCC systems under the authority of the FSMA and FNTC procedures and standards related to DCCs. It will present DCC best practices throughout Canada. 2 credits. Prerequisites: Introduction to First Nation Taxation, Establishing First Nation Tax Rates and Expenditures.
This course is about using long term debenture financing as a tool to provide local government infrastructure. It will focus on the regulatory requirements related to long term debentures in the FSMA. It will focus in particular on the legal, planning and policy requirements established by FNFA, the FNTC, the FNSI and the FMB It will present best practices in economic, capital and financial planning. It is required by any First Nation interested in borrowing under the authority of the FSMA. 3 credits. Prerequisites: Introduction to First Nation Taxation, Establishing First Nation Tax Rates & Expenditures, Assessment and Assessment Appeals, Administration: Tax Notices, Collection & Enforcement, Communications, Taxpayer Relation and Dispute Resolution.