The Rural Municipality of Albert, Manitoba is withholding $395 thousand in school taxes from the provincial government, and refusing to collect next year's school taxes from cash-strapped ranchers and farmers.

Reeve Tom Campbell and the four councillors near Tilston unanimously decided at a recent meeting to stop collecting the tax after a request from Tilston-area farmer Brian Sterling.

"I said our cows are only worth $100 and we aren't go to be able to pay (school tax)," said Sterling in an interview with the Canadian Press.

Reeve Tom Campbell agreed, and plans to send a letter to other Manitoba rural municipalities encouraging them to join the revolt.

What's interesting about this case is that it is unquestionably illegal for the municipality to take this action. As is the case in Saskatchewan, municipal councils are bound by law to collect school taxes and turn them over to the school divisions.

This is a desperate action in response to desperate times. School and municipal property taxes are a crisis in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba. This begs the question: Will rural municipalities in Saskatchewan go down this road We suspect that conditions ripe for another tax revolt in our province.

The only province in Canada with a more severe school tax burden than Manitoba is Saskatchewan. In Manitoba, a staggering 51 per cent of school funding comes from school taxes on property. In Saskatchewan, that percentage has soared to 60 per cent.

Since 1997, school taxes on Saskatchewan agricultural land have risen 116 per cent faster than inflation. Over the years, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has presented three separate petitions (a total of 31,352 signatures) calling for reductions to school taxes, and a review to identify alternatives to the current school-funding model.

A victory for CTF supporters came when our recommendation for a school tax review was accepted by Finance Minister Jim Melenchuk in the last budget.

Chaired by the likeable former-Moose Jaw Mayor Ray Boughen, the K-12 review commission is visiting communities across the province to hear citizen's views. Mr. Boughen has an outstanding record of holding the line on taxes in his own community, and the CTF has his commitment that the views of taxpayers will be fairly and sympathetically reflected when the commission finalizes its report by the end of the year.

The CTF will tell the commission that school taxes are inherently unfair, that the value of property is not necessarily a reflection of wealth, and that schools should be funded through the general revenue fund. We will also tell the commission that it's time we looked at school boards and determine whether they are truly relevant in our society, and suggest this cumbersome layer of bureaucracy be removed.

It's time our politicians showed some leadership on this festering problem and act BEFORE municipalities stop collecting school taxes. A great first step is to stand before the school tax commission, and tell them exactly what you think of school taxes in our communities.

For more information on where you can present to the commission, visit their web site at www.cfe.gov.sk.ca, or contact them at 1-866-323-5076.