OLDS — Town council has approved its tax rate bylaw and it provides some mixed results for residential and business property owners.
Council approved the document during its April 27 meeting, held via Zoom.
Overall, total taxes for residential and non-residential/commercial taxpayers are down from last year, according to a chart presented by Finance director Sheena Linderman.
Linderman stressed that’s what average property owners can expect. Some may have to pay more, some less.
Total taxes include the municipal portion as well as education and Mountain View Seniors’ Housing requisitions.
This year, for the average single family home assessed at $303,581, taxes are expected to be $2,752.42, down from 2019 when they were $2,795.40 on a home assessed at $321,217.
Total taxes for the average non-residential/commercial property for 2020 are $10,755.10 on a property assessed at $935,010, compared to 2019 when taxes on the average such property, assessed at $923,274, were $11,092.89.
Due to hardship brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, council voted to extend the due date for property taxes to be paid to Aug. 31 from the original June 30 date.
Municipal taxes
The average residential taxpayer will see savings of $105 in the municipal portion of their tax bill but the average non-residential property owner will see the municipal portion of their tax bill rise by about $95.
Last December, council approved a zero per cent tax increase.
Now that the latest property value assessments have come in, it was time to adjust tax bills accordingly.
In the case of residential property owners, Linderman said the average assessment for single family homes in Olds is down 5.5 per cent to $303,581 this year from $321,217 in 2019.
However, the opposite has happened with the average assessment of non-residential property.
Linderman said it rose 1.27 per cent to $935,010 in 2020 from $923,274.
Education, Mountain View Seniors' Housing
The education portion of property tax is rising 3.7 per cent for residential property owners, which will result in a hike of $30 for the average residential property owner in Olds.
On the other hand, the average non-residential property owner will see their education requisition fall by $549 or 16.4 per cent.
In a report to council, Linderman wrote "the large decrease in non-residential (taxes) is attributed to a larger assessment base, due to the assessment for the cannabis industry becoming taxable."
This year’s requisition for Mountain View Senior’s Housing is up 40.3 per cent for residential property owners, which translates into an increase of $32.
For non-residential property owners, the hike is 50.3 per cent, which is an increase of $116.
During an interview with the Albertan, Linderman stressed that by law, the town is required to collect education and seniors housing taxes on behalf of the provincial government. It has no say in either.
“They send us the invoice and we pay them,” she said.
