When the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released its eighth annual report on the comparison of property tax gaps between municipalities, Canora came out at being a little better than average.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The tax gap is defined as the amount more that commercial property owners paid as compared to the property taxes paid by residential property owners.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The provincial average shows commercial property owners paying 2.28 times (defined as the tax gap) the municipal property taxes of residential property owners. Canora was in fourth place (among municipalities with at least 1,000 population) in the region with a tax gap of 2.18.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Langenburg was deemed the best with a tax gap of 1.20, followed by Kelvington, 1.68; and Preeceville, 1.90. In the bottom five were: Esterhazy, 2.50; Wadena, 2.89; Wynyard, 3.10; Kamsack, 4.47; and Foam Lake, 5.14.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The figures were based on property taxes per $200,000 assessment. In Canora, residential rates are $1,964 and commercial is $4,290. While Langenburg has the best tax gap, Kelvington had the lowest commercial property taxes ($1,890 compared to residential at $1,128).
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Kamsack had a lower residential rate ($1,600) but its commercial rate is $7,150. Preeceville鈥檚 residential rate is $1,868 while its commercial rate is $3,546.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 CFIB鈥檚 eighth annual research report, Wanted: Property Tax Fairness in Saskatchewan examines municipal and total property tax gaps for 69 municipalities and 32 rural municipalities (RMs) with a population of 1,000 or more.
鈥淭he good news is some municipalities do a better job than others in making municipal property taxes more fair for small businesses,鈥� said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB鈥檚 vice-president of Prairie and Agri-business. 鈥淗owever, the bad news is many Saskatchewan business owners continue to pay more than their fair share and get the short-end of the property tax stick.鈥�
In fact, Saskatchewan commercial property owners paid from $1.14 to $5.14 for every dollar in municipal property taxes paid by homeowners. In Central East Saskatchewan, it ranged from $1.20 to $5.14, with an average of $2.78.
In the region, Foam Lake was said to have the most unfair municipal tax system in the province with a municipal property tax gap of 5.14 and the highest commercial municipal property tax bill of $11,700.
When provincial education property taxes are factored in commercial property owners in Central Eest Saskatchewan are paying on average 2.68 times the property taxes of residential property owners, states Braun-Pollon.
This report should be required reading for all municipal leaders as they determine their 2016 operating budgets in the coming weeks, she said.
鈥淲e worry many municipalities may continue to hike property taxes to fund unsustainable spending,鈥� added Braun-Pollon.
鈥淲hile we recognize the many challenges they face, the fact is the municipalities analyzed in the Central East received a 128 per cent increase in municipal revenue sharing from 2007-2008 to 2015-16,鈥� said Braun-Pollon. 鈥淲e believe municipalities need to further contain costs and commit to addressing the inequities in their municipal property tax system.鈥�
The CFIB report outlines a series of recommendations for provincial and municipal governments to ensure the property tax system becomes more balanced over time.聽
