| Case study: Neighbouring suburban communities | Kingswood | Upper Hammonds Plains |
|---|---|---|
| Market value of average house | $542,020 | $107,380 |
| Current city and provincial tax | $5,908 | $876 |
| City and provincial tax under “reform” | $3,311 | $1,532 |
| City’s share of current taxes | $3,813 | $560 |
| City taxes under “tax reform” | $1,216 | $1,216 |
| Change in city tax | $2,597 lower (-68%) | increases $656 (+117%) |
| Note: The “average house” is an amalgamation of 10 houses. Methodology here. | ||
| Case study: An extremely regressive tax system by design | David & Margaret Fountain, Young Avenue | Bill & Helen Zebedee, Clement Street |
|---|---|---|
| Market value of house: | $4,040,300 | $149,700 |
| Capped assessment: | $3,379,900 | $145,500 |
| Present tax system | ||
| City tax bill: | $28,695 | $1,235 |
| Tax per $100 of capped assessment: | 84.9 cents | 84.9 cents |
| Tax per $100 of market value: | 71 cents | 82.5 cents |
| Under “reform” proposal | ||
| Services charged: | all urban | all urban |
| Tax bill: | $1,316 | $1,316 |
| Tax per $100 of market value: | 0.03 cents | 87.9 cents |
| Note: Tax figures reflect only the city’s portion of property tax bills, and do not include the provincial and supplemental educations charges, which remain the same under both scenarios. |
| Case study: How “reform” taxes apartments | |
|---|---|
| Halifax Peninsula** | Dartmouth** |
| Quinpool Tower | Marine View Terrace |
| – $96 / unit | + $221 / unit |
| Fenwick Tower | Westgate Apartments |
| + $55 / unit | + $140 / unit |
| SouthPoint Apartments | 96 Highfield Park Drive |
| – $10 /unit | + $198 / unit |
| Ogilvie Apartments | 4 Franklyn Court |
| + $26 / unit | + $258 / unit |
| **Based on 2007 figures. |
Related Stories
Why everyone loses under the city’s new property tax plan
Renters and owners, city slickers and suburbanites: none are spared in the effort to shift wealth from poor to rich—not even the rich themselves. The good news? City council can still stop it.
Notes on the figures used in this article
Problems with figuring out the exact effects of “tax reform.”
City Councillors’ property tax profiles
What Halifax city councillors stand to save and/or pay under the new tax initiative.
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2009.
What a disgusting shameful proposal. Shame!
At the end of day there are those in HRM who do not enjoy the same services as others: i.e sewer, water, public transit, police and firefighting services, side walks, street lighting, etc..
In addition these same people who take pride in their property (build a nice home) and in doing so make the area they live in an attractive place to live are penalizied by a assesement value tax system.
I am for a service based system. If you benefit from the service then bloody well pay for it. If you can’t afford the service then services provided need to be looked at and the indivual needs to live within their means and not on the back of society at large.