MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - A one-per cent property tax early payment incentive recently implemented by Mountain View County has been a resounding success, councillors heard during the recent regularly scheduled council meeting.
As of July 15, $23.4 million in non-auto-pay property payments had been collected by the municipality under the incentive program. The 2020 total represented an increase of $21.7 million collected by the same time last year.
The 2020 totals comprise 848 more rolls being paid in full, which totaled 698 owner accounts.
“The early payment incentive was utilized by many ratepayers, especially those with large annual property tax balances,” said director of corporate services Robert Beaupertuis.
“Of the 55 largest outstanding accounts, 23 remitted payments. The collection of those 23 accounts totalled more than $19.75 million.”
Collecting the taxes early has a benefit to the municipality, he said.
“Collecting such a large portion of the total tax levied in 2020 two months prior to the annual deadline alleviates immense financial pressure and coincides or just precedes the timeline to remit payment for many large county bills,” he said.
The total cost of the one per cent early payment incentive totalled $233,212.97, he said.
“It is strongly recommended to continue to offer an early payment incentive for future tax years,” he said.
Council accepted the report as information.
