By Bird Bouchard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The 2022 Tax Rates have been approved by council.
Last week, council passed a motion recommending the 2022 Business Improvement Area (BIA) levies be approved, as well as the tax due dates for the final 2022 tax bill will be August 2, 2022, and November 1, 2022. The motion passed 16-1.
The report shown to council was intended to establish taxation rates for Municipal and Education purposes for 2022, authorize the BIA levies, and set the tax due dates for the final 2022 tax bill.
According to the report, tax rates are applied on a percentage basis against a property’s assessed value as required under section 312 of the Municipal Act, 2001.
“Assessment values are established by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). The local government establishes tax rates to raise money for municipal purposes and the Province to raise money for school board purposes. These are added together to form the composite tax rate.” reads the report.
Individual property tax changes will vary due to local improvements, tax capping, assessment phase-ins, and fringe or area-rated service charges. BIA levies are in addition to any other charges.
The report shows all BIA levies remain unchanged from 2021, although the levy percentages have changed due to assessment adjustments.
The Ridgetown BIA has a $12,500 flat charge base tax rate.
Amounts raised for BIA purposes are used by each respective Board for purposes determined by each Board.
“The Blenheim, Wheatley, and Ridgetown BIA’s levy each property a predetermined amount based on agreement with the members through a flat charge rather than applying a tax rate to assessments. Each BIA Board is eligible to receive its levy once requirements under section 205 (a budget and financial statements) of the Municipal Act, 2001 have been met,” states the report.
The approved tax due dates are the same as those used since 1998, except for 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“Where possible, we prefer to use the same due dates to promote consistency and predictability,” said Mark Visser, Revenue Analyst.
The Municipality has 17,000 taxpayers on pre-authorized payment plans. These include a monthly payment plan or a pre-authorized payment on the due date. The Tax Rate Bylaw includes wording that authorizes a continuation of this payment method.
“The tax notice itself is prescribed by the Minister of Finance. The Minister regulates both the content and form of the bill and stipulates the content of any explanation notices on the bill. The Province believes that a standardized tax bill will ensure that tax notices are understandable, consistent, and comparable across the Province.
In 1998, the tax levied for East Kent Ward 3 was 9,365,370, which was 9.3 percent of the burden. However, the 2022 tax levied is $22,187,097, which is 11.13 percent of the burden, an increase of 1.83 percent.
Meanwhile, the change in assessment shows in 1998, the weighted assessment for East Kent Ward 3 was $626,335,780, which is 10.43 percent of the burden. The 2021 weighted assessment is $1,377,061,615, which is 12.21 percent of the burden, an increase of 1.84 percent. – The Ridgetown Independent News
