Commercial property owners in New Brunswick can expect property tax relief in step with multifamily landlords. However, neither group of ratepayers will enjoy the outcome of this week’s provincial announcements until 2021.
In introducing the 2020-21 budget, Finance and Treasury Board Minister Ernie Steeves reiterated a yet-to-be-delivered pledge to begin curbing New Brunswick’s dual municipal-provincial taxation of non-owner-occupied housing next year, then made a similar property tax relief promise to commercial ratepayers.
The non-residential property rate will be cut by 15 per cent in phased increments over four years. The first discount of 8.25 cents per $100 of assessed value is slated for 2021. The current rate of $2.186 per $100 of assessment will drop to $1.856 per $100 of assessment by 2024.
“We have heard from the business community that there is a need to address the high tax burden and cost pressures it faces,” Steeves told the New Brunswick legislative assembly. “While there were a variety of measures that we could take, we have chosen to lower the provincial non-residential property tax rate.”
Meanwhile, residential landlords were first promised a 50 per cent reduction of the current property tax rate — set at $1.1233 per $100 of assessed values —in 2018, but with the understanding that it would not begin to occur until 2021, nor fully unfold until 2024. Next year’s first phase will trim 14.04 cents per $100 in assessment from property tax bills.
“A longstanding criticism of New Brunswick’s provincial property tax system is often referred to as the double-taxation of residential non-owner-occupied housing,” Steeves said. “The combined effect of municipal and provincial taxes results in a comparatively higher overall property tax burden.”
So with this CORONA issue that we are having what do you suspect this will have on unemployment in the Province? I would say that it would be safe to assume that lot’s of jobs will be lost, as a landlord I would be willing to cut rents if the NB government was to get rid of its Keynesian land tax system. This 15% tax cut in 2021 is welcomed but come on really this is a bit foolish as we pass this extra 150 a month on to our tenants… I am advocating that 1.15% levy would be suitable level of taxation on land taxes and this would result in cheaper rents in this economic downturn we about to embark on..
As a result of the COVID—19 crisis many New Brunswickers will have vastly reduced incomes. Isn’t it about time to waived interest and penalties for late property tax payments. That would give a lot of homeowners a lot of relief.
Our vacation home is assessed at a higher rate than our neighbour’s simply because we do not reside in NB. We put minimal strain on the municipal infrastructure yet we pay more. Sure you can lower the rate but what prevents the assessment from being increased? To make matters worse, we are denied entry into the province once again. Yet they still cash the property tax cheques.