“Property tax bills to show value with, without cap” plus 1 more |
| Property tax bills to show value with, without cap Posted: 23 Feb 2011 02:18 AM PST A1 Brett Bundale FREDERICTON - When property tax bills arrive in the mail next week, homeowners will find an added feature highlighting the new cap on assessments. Photo: Telegraph-Journal Archive Bruce Fitch Service New Brunswick will now include two assessments on each bill for owner-occupied homes: One with the three per cent cap on property assessment increases and one without. "What's new in 2011 is that people who are eligible for the cap will find two assessment values on their bills," spokesman Brent Staeben said Tuesday. "We need to show the assessment value of the home with the cap for tax purposes," he said, "but because this is an interim two-year measure, we need to continue to make sure we reflect the real and true market value of home." After years of soaring assessments - and in most cases, higher bills - the Progressive Conservative government tabled legislation last December to cap residential property assessment increases to three per cent for 2011 and 2012. "We have made a commitment to help homeowners, some of whom have had their property tax bills double in the past 10 years," Local Government Minister Bruce Fitch said at the time. The government is currently consulting with municipalities and other stakeholders on how to build a fairer and more transparent property tax system. It remains unclear what will happen to property tax assessments after the two year period is up. However, the three-per-cent cap might still leave some New Brunswick homeowners feeling squeezed. Although the majority of homeowners saw assessments climb by five per cent or less last year, some discovered increases of up to 40 per cent. Fitch admitted the "interim cap will not lower bills" but he said it will "protect homeowners from the large jumps we have seen during the last few years." Also, the three-per-cent cap only applies to the roughly 232,000 owner-occupied homes in New Brunswick that are used as a primary residence. The remaining 221,231 properties - from cottages to income properties - are not eligible for any relief. In addition, the cap only applies to the normal market value increase of the home, not major renovations. "It's meant to protect homeowners from the jumps we've seen in assessments over the last couple of years," Staeben said. "If you put $50,000 of investment in your home this year...it's not meant to protect you from that investment." Meanwhile, residents who suffered damage to their property during December's severe storms could be eligible for a reduction in their property assessments this year. If the value of a property has gone down because of storm damage, property owners can appeal their property tax assessment and could end up paying less tax. "The storms happened so close to when final assessments were prepared that our assessment staff was not able to visit every property affected," Fitch said recently. "The 2011 assessments may need to be lowered for some properties, depending on the market impact of the storm damage on each property." In recent years, a growing number of homeowners upset with skyrocketing bills have submitted requests to appeal their assessments to Service New Brunswick. Last year the department received 8,711 requests for appeals, slightly above the 8,400 requests in 2009, which was the highest number in more than a decade. Only the assessments - not the rates - can be challenged. But Staeben said officials that evaluate assessments for the department are part of the Association of Assessing Officers. He said the international standard for appeals is two per cent of properties appealing. "We had 1.9 per cent, so just a hair better than the standard." Logged in visitors may comment on articles, enter contests, manage home delivery holds and much more online. Your ONE Account grants you access to features and content across the entire CanadaEast Network of sites. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| No property tax increase in Orange County -- for now Posted: 23 Feb 2011 08:38 AM PST Orange County will begin preparing a budget with no property tax increase. But that could change depending on what the state does to cope with its more than $2 billion shortfall. The county expects only a 1 percent in property and sales tax revenue in the fiscal year that begins July 1. Property taxes makes up 75 percent of the county's general fund, which pays for the day to day expenses of county government and services. The commissioners had already indicated they want to avoid a property tax increase. Last night, commissioners Steve Yuhasz and Earl McKee repeated their support for that stance. But others said it's still too early to commit to no tax hike. If the county takes on new debt for the construction of a new elementary school or water and sewer lines in the Efland/Buckhorn Road area, it may want to raise taxes next year to soften the blow the following year when the first payments come due. Commissioner Barry Jacobs said the county may also vote to raise taxes to protect school funding if the state either takes money from the counties or increases local expenses for services previously paid for by the state. For example, convicted criminals are staying in county jails longer because state prisons are full; the county does not get paid for that. Plus, in Orange, that keeps the sheriff from using jail beds for federal prisoners for whom the county is reimbursed. "I think you're doing a very good job," Jacobs told County Manager Frank Clifton. "But I don't think you're even close to presenting us a worst-case scenario. ... I'm just not sure it's realistic." Look for more on the county budget picture coming in Sunday's Chapel Hill News. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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