The Riparian Tax Credit Program

Benefit Period 2008 – 2012
(application deadline April 30, 2008)

NEW for 2007 and subsequent years

• Additional tax reduction for an off-site watering facility. (available only to livestock producers who are eligible for the Riparian Tax Credit)
• Additional tax reduction for sloped riparian land. (available to both crop and livestock producers who are eligible for the Riparian Tax Credit)

If you were approved for the Riparian Tax Credit on your farm properties for the benefit period 2003-2005 or the benefit period 2004-2006 (and did not reapply for benefit periods 2006-2010 or 2007-2011), your land may be eligible for the higher benefit levels, the new off-site watering facility credit, and the new sloped riparian land credit.

If you were approved for the Riparian Tax Credit on your farm properties for the benefit period 2005-2009, your payments will continue to apply to that land without change. You may also qualify for the new off-site watering facility credit and the new sloped riparian land credit for the remaining 3 years of your agreement.

If you were approved for the Riparian Tax Credit on your farm properties for the benefit period 2006-2010, your payments will continue to apply to that land without change. You may also qualify for the new off-site watering facility credit and the new sloped riparian land credit for the remaining 4 years of your agreement.

If you were approved for the Riparian Tax Credit on your farm properties for the benefit period 2007-2011, your payments will continue to apply to that land without change.

For more information, click on the links below or call 1-800-782-0771.

---

The Riparian Tax Credit is an innovative green program initiated by the Manitoba Department of Finance.

The Riparian Tax Credit is designed to encourage farm operators to upgrade their management of lakeshores and river and stream banks and it recognizes those who have already done so. This property tax credit is the first program of its type in Canada.

Good management of the strip of land adjacent to lake shores and rivers and streams can reduce erosion, buffer the extremes of the flood and drought cycle, improve water quality downstream, and reduce emission of greenhouse gases.  Good riparian management practices include; elimination of tillage, limitation of grazing and watering by livestock, and maintenance of various types of cover, especially deep-rooted shrubs and trees but also including hay to control erosion.

Benefits are available to farmers and livestock producers who make a 5-year commitment to protect a strip along a waterway on agricultural land.  Over time, this approach should benefit the rural economy and contribute to safeguarding water quality throughout rural Manitoba.

Please use the following links to obtain additional information and/or an application for the Riparian Tax Credit:

• Information for Taxpayers (PDF - size 89 kb)
• Questions & Answers (PDF - size 58 kb)
• Application - Information Sheet (PDF - size 65 kb)
• Riparian Tax Credit Application (PDF - size 23kb)
• Schedule A (PDF - size 15 kb)
  

For more information on the Riparian Tax Credit, please contact

The Manitoba Tax Assistance Office
809 - 386 Broadway
Winnipeg  MB  R3C 3R6

Telephone:  1-800-782-0771(toll free)
                   (204) 948-2115 (in Winnipeg)

Fax:            (204) 948-2263
E-mail:        TAO@gov.mb.ca