Interested participants may proceed to Sturgeon Heights Community Centre (Sturgeon Creek) at 210 Rita St on December 6. The discussion will start from 7 to 9 pm. The next meeting will take place on Thursday, December 9, from 6 to 8 pm. In Room 5 on the main floor of the Winnipeg Convention Centre, 375 York Ave.

Pre-registration is accepted but not mandatory. Just email budget@winnipeg.ca or call (204) 986-4242.

The pubic consultations will help determine the scope and level of investment in Winnipeg’s infrastructure, said Councilor Scott Fielding, chair of the Standing Policy Committee on Finance.

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Starting January 1, 2010, 93 per cent of Ontario income tax payers will get a permanent tax cut, as part of a comprehensive tax plan that will help create 591,000 jobs and make the province more attractive for new business investment.

The province is cutting the first income bracket tax rate by one percentage point, from 6.05 per cent to 5.05 per cent. As a result, Ontario will have the lowest tax rate of all provinces on the first income bracket, and an additional 90,000 lower income Ontario taxpayers will no longer pay any provincial personal income tax.

The comprehensive package also includes $10.6 billion in direct payments and permanent tax relief, including the following:

• Starting in August, nearly 3 million low- to middle-income Ontario families and individuals will receive a new, permanent Ontario Sales Tax Credit of up to $260 for each adult and child per year – one of the most generous in Canada.
• An additional $270 million in annual property tax relief, through enhancements to the Ontario Property Tax Credit, will benefit 2.3 million low- to middle-income homeowners and tenants.
• Starting in June 2010, Sales Tax Transition Benefits will benefit 6.5 million Ontario families and individuals – totalling up to $1,000 for families (including single parents) and up to $300 for single people – in 2010 and 2011.

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The $132-million budget also includes a one-time one per cent levy to complete capital projects worth $20.4 million.

Overall, “it’s a restraint budget” that cuts services “in very subtle ways,” said Coun. Mike Kelch.

“I don’t think it’s really going to [have an] impact,” Kelch said. “I don’t think people will say ‘Oh, I really notice that.’”

The property tax increase will translate to $15 for a home assessed at $100,000, the budget said.

That’s “a very modest tax increase,” Mayor Mike Bradley said, adding it will help pay for “a massive infrastructure investment in the community” in 2008 and 2009.

“So that in turn creates jobs, renews the community and gives us a real strong way to exit the recession,” Bradley said.

The city released its 228-page draft budget on Oct. 26. It proposed a property tax hike of 2.75 per cent, which was whittled down to 1.8 per cent during a series of discussions that ended Tuesday night.

Sarnia’s transit department will see its own increase, as the cost of a bus ride jumps to $2.25 from $2.00.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2009/12/02/sarnia-2010-property-tax-091202.html#ixzz0ig5iN9Pr

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This article incorrectly states that I support the sales tax plan put forward by Toronto’s budget chief, Shelley Carroll, and it misrepresents my views on municipal taxation.

I was mayor of Winnipeg when we proposed a 1% sales tax as replacement revenue for a 50% cut in property taxes as part of a larger plan developed to modernize city finances and reduce the overall tax burden. That plan was developed over two years in partnership with business, labour and community organizations.

There is no plan or partnership in Toronto to reform city government; instead city hall seems to believe that every problem can be fixed by adding or increasing a tax.

When I proposed a sales tax as part of a new tax system, Winnipeg had already made very tough decisions including cutting the city debt in half, reducing property taxes, shrinking the city government and reducing the size of the bureaucracy. The opposite has been happening in Toronto.

I believe in building the tax base, not the tax burden.

Glen Murray, CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto.

http://www.financialpost.com/scripts/story.html?id=2191889

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The savings recouped from Toronto’s civic workers strike will likely be put towards property tax bills next year instead of being mailed out as rebates to city residents.

The city’s executive committee recommended Monday that the estimated $33.2 million saved in the summer work stoppage be applied to next year’s operating budget.

Some city councillors had pushed for an immediate rebate.

But the city has estimated the cost of issuing and administering rebate cheques at somewhere between $2 million and $3 million.

Mayor David Miller said Monday that reflecting those savings in property tax bills is “the fairest and most efficient way” to return the money to Torontonians.

The proposal is expected to save taxpayers around 2.8 per cent on their tax bills — about $36 million — next year.

But Miller wouldn’t say if property taxes will increase in 2010, or by how much. While there are no official figures out, the city is facing a significant budget shortfall next year.

Council will vote on the executive committee’s recommendation later this month.

The 39-day strike by about 30,000 municipal employees left most residents of Canada’s largest city with no residential garbage or recycling collection. City-run daycares and summer day camps were closed, along with swimming pools and most other city services.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/10/05/toronto-strike-tax-savings695.html

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Among those who said they may support the idea were Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a pair of county supervisors, Yvonne B. Burke and Zev Yaroslavsky.

“I’m a cynic by design,” said Yaroslavsky, current chairman of the five-member Board of Supervisors. “I’m skeptical you can get 66 2/3 ” — the percentage of favorable votes need to approve an increase — “during a recession. . . . Nevertheless, it’s a tool that has to be considered.”

A poll commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority showed that two-thirds of voters would support a new transportation tax. But the poll’s first question made no mention of a subway but did mention widening eight freeways in Los Angeles County.

Villaraigosa gave a passionate speech about the subway, saying it would have among the most riders of any line in the country. He also said the project would cost $7 billion but offered no firm detail on how to pay for it. MTA estimates have put the cost of the line at $5 billion.

In his speech and in an earlier interview, Villaraigosa said a sales tax hike was an option. But around City Hall, the thinking is that he won’t make a decision on pursuing a transit tax until after Feb. 5, when voters will be asked to authorize a telephone tax that the city needs to balance its budget.

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Under provincial legislation, all properties across Manitoba are being reassessed regularly to make sure that taxes are fairly shared according to the assessed value of owned or leased properties. This is also done to ensure that the assessed values keep pace with real estate market conditions and help property owners understand and evaluate their own assessments.

WHEN?

The new assessment becomes effective in 2010, and will be used on your 2010 property tax statement. Assessment notices are being mailed in advance of the 2010 tax year. This action will benefit you as a property owner, as you will have more time to review your assessment and discuss it with an assessor. It is advantageous for the municipality too, as there will be more time to finalize assessments before the final roll is needed for tax purposes in 2010.

HOW?

Conveniently, you can get your assessment information online by visiting www.gov.mb.ca/assessment. Here, you’ll be informed about the assessment of all properties in Manitoba except in Winnipeg (Winnipeg assessments are available at www.winnipegassessment.com). You will also find answers to frequently asked questions.

Another way is to personally visit an assessor in a community near you. Assessors will hold Open Houses in many communities, offering you a convenient opportunity to discuss your assessment.

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•A real property notice for buildings and land
•A personal property notice for certain equipment or machinery
•A business notice, if you operate a commercial enterprise and your municipality imposes a business tax or fee

This updated assessment may affect your 2010 property taxes. I may suggest you to take a few minutes to scan and review this to supply you with recent information regarding land tax matters.

The Manitoba Government is reducing property taxes across the province. This is done by increasing the Education Property Tax Credit since 1999, to $650 in 2009, eliminating the Education Support Levy on residential property, saving residential taxpayers $100 million annually, and increasing the Farmland School Tax Rebate to 75% in 2009 from 33.3% in 2004.

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That’s much lower than last year’s cap, which was 2.5 per cent.

The rent control guideline takes into account cost increases including utilities, property taxes and other expenses in running an apartment complex.

The cap applies to most residential rental property including apartments, single rooms, houses and duplexes.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Province-sets-rent-control-cap-at-1-57362362.html

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The 1999 survey released Wednesday was based on 1998 figures. It shows that annual property tax averaged $2,230 in Ontario and $2,030 in Quebec. By contrast, homeowners in Newfoundland and Labrador paid an average of $640.

Canadian homeowners paid 2.9 per cent of family income in property taxes in 1998, one-seventh of the 21.3 per cent they paid in income tax.

However, the ratio between the two taxes differed greatly according to the level of family income, the survey found.
Families with income less than $20,000 paid more than twice as much in property taxes (10 per cent of annual income) as they did in income taxes (four per cent).

Families earning $100,000 or more paid just 1.8 per cent of their income on property taxes and 28.6 per cent on income tax.

The effective property tax rate (tax paid on a property relative to its value) was highest in Quebec and Manitoba at 1.9 per cent, with Saskatchewan following at 1.8 per cent.

All other provinces had rates of 1.2 per cent or lower. In British Columbia, which had the highest property values, the effective rate was just 0.7 per cent.

Homeowners below Statistics Canada low-income cut-offs paid relatively large proportions of their incomes in property taxes: 11.7 per cent for the elderly and 10.8 per cent for the non-elderly.

However, low-income homeowners had much higher assets, in terms of home equity and other financial assets, than low-income renters.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1059058327636_91

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