Cities: 2015 Municipal property tax gaps (best
to worst) and municipal taxes for $200,000 of
assessed value:
martensville messenger - nOvemBer 17, 2016 - Page 5
CFIB Ranks Best & Worst Property Tax Gaps
In Saskatchewan Cities
Martensville had lowest municipal property tax gap in 2015;
Prince Albert the highest
Cities: 2015 Total property tax gaps (best to worst)
and total taxes for $200,000 of assessed value:
Source: CFIB calculations based on 2015 property tax data from
Government of Saskatchewan, Ministry of Government Relations.
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The Canadian Federation of Independent
Business (CFIB) released its annual comparison of
property tax gaps in Saskatchewan municipalities. On
average, commercial property owners paid 2.23 times
what residential property owners paid in municipal
property taxes.
CFIB’s 9th annual edition of Wanted:
Property Tax Fairness in Saskatchewan examines
municipal and total property tax gaps for 75
municipalities and 31 Rural Municipalities (RMs)
with populations of 1,000 or greater. The tax gap
measures the ratio of commercial and residential
property tax bills for properties assessed at a value of
$200,000.
“This report should be required reading
for all recently elected municipal leaders as they
determine their 2017 operating budgets in the coming
weeks,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s VicePresident, Prairie and Agri-Business. “We worry many
municipalities may continue to hike property taxes to
fund unsustainable spending, which will further erode
small business optimism.”
A provincial tax gap of 2.23 means
Saskatchewan commercial property owners paid, on
average, $2.23 for every dollar in municipal property
tax paid by homeowners. In Saskatchewan’s 15 cities,
this amount ranged from $1.51 to $3.92, with an
average of $2.39 (see Backgrounder).
The Good:
- Martensville boasted the lowest municipal property
tax gap of 1.51
- Saskatoon had the lowest commercial municipal
property tax bill of $1,782
The Bad:
- Prince Albert had the most unfair tax system with
a municipal property tax gap of 3.92, and had the
highest commercial property tax bill of $6,350.
When provincial education property taxes
are factored in, commercial property owners in
Saskatchewan’s cities paid, on average, 2.38 times
what residential property owners paid in property
taxes.
“Some municipalities do a better job than
others in making municipal property taxes fair
for small businesses. However, many business
owners continue to pay more than their fair share,”
added Jennifer Henshaw, CFIB’s Policy Analyst for
Saskatchewan and co-author of the report.
“While cities claim they have a ‘revenue
problem’, the fact is they have received a 169 per cent
increase in municipal revenue sharing from 2007-08
to 2016-17,” said Henshaw. “We believe cities need
to work harder to further contain costs and address
the inequities in their
municipal
property
tax system.”
CFIB’s report
outlines a series of
recommendations
for
provincial
and
municipal
governments
to
ensure the property
tax system becomes
more balanced over
time.
To read the full
report go to CFIB’s
Sat-Sun 12-6
Saskatchewan
website: www.cfib.
306-653-4778 ca/sk Follow us on
Twitter: @cfibsk.
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municipal Property tax gaps
For a property assessed at $200,000:
► Martensville had the lowest municipal property tax
gap, at 1.51
► Prince Albert had the highest municipal property tax
gap, at 3.92
► Saskatoon had the lowest commercial municipal
property tax bill, at $1,782
► Prince Albert had the highest commercial municipal
property tax bill, at $6,350
local governments
CFIB has made a number of recommendations to reduce
the municipal property tax gap:
► Develop and implement a plan over time to reduce the
commercial-to-residential property tax gap.
► Limit year-over-year operating spending growth to a
maximum of inflation and population growth.
► If applicable, eliminate costly and outdated municipal
banked sick day policies and replace with affordable
short-term disability plans.
► Review current programs and services to identify
areas that can be streamlined or eliminated.
► Introduce a plan to reduce the size and cost of the
municipal civil service (primarily through attrition).
► If applicable, consider the introduction of a base tax
for all homeowners.
total Property tax gaps
For a property assessed at $200,000:
► Martensville had the lowest total property tax gap, at
1.75
► Prince Albert had the highest total property tax gap,
at 3.45
► Saskatoon had the lowest total commercial property
tax bill, at $3,438
► Prince Albert had the highest total commercial property
tax bill, at $8,006
Provincial government
CFIB has made a number of recommendations to reduce
the total property tax gap:
► Introduce a long-term strategy to phase out the use of
mill rate factors.
► Reject any proposal that would provide increased
taxation powers to municipalities.
► Freeze funding to municipalities (e.g. transfers from
the Municipal Operating Grant) at current levels until
municipalities better manage their operating spending.
► Reject raising education property taxes to pay for
infrastructure projects.
For a complete analysis of property tax data,
including methodology and regional breakdowns,
please refer to the full report: “Wanted: Property Tax
Fairness in Saskatchewan,” CFIB, 2016.
http://cfib.ca/a8890e
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