A Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) report is recommending a 9.7 per cent hike in property tax bills.
It argues the increase is needed to cover a $68.7 million revenue shortfall. With inflation and population growth, the municipality is looking for ways to deal with rising costs. However, advocates for taxpayers aren’t happy with the proposal.
“We’ve got to question it. Is it any wonder so many people are homeless when the best idea the Halifax Regional Municipality can come up with is another excessive property tax hike,” asks Kevin Russell, executive director of the Investment Property Owners Association of Nova Scotia.
He says higher property taxes will drive up rents and place pressure on landlords.
“Small rental housing providers who haven’t sold their properties are tired of being under the financial stress of operating their businesses at a financial loss and will sell their properties,” Russell says.
1:56 Community members stepping up to keep Grand Parade tenters safe
He says that will reduce the number of affordable units available, including single-family homes and duplexes.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is concerned for families.
“What we’re looking at here is an average property tax increase of over $200, ” says interim Atlantic director Jay Goldberg. “I think that number is very important because there have recently been studies showing that fifty percent of Canadians say they’re 200 dollars away from not being able to pay their bills.”
Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank in Halifax agrees the increase could have an impact.
“The need has gone beyond low and fixed-income families,” says communications director Romaine Rhoden. “We’re seeing more middle-class families coming to us, which means the budget they used to have — that could be used a couple of years ago — it’s not the same. The need is much more.”
The report marks the first stage of a months-long process before the budget is finalized in the spring.
Councillor Cathy Deagle-Gammon, who serves as the vice-chair of the Audit and Finance Standing Committee, says she’s received a lot of feedback from the public and they’ll consider all options.
“Tighten the belts. Do what you need to do, and do not have the taxpayer have this burden, find other ways. Those are the things being said and I can’t dispute them,” Deagle-Gammon says.
The report will be debated at regional council on Tuesday.
News Related
-
Today, Manitoba announced that it will temporarily reduce costs for farmers using Crown land for grazing, haying and yearly cropping. The measure will bring the reduction rate up to 55 per cent from 33 per cent for the 2024 growing season. Carson Callum, general manager with Manitoba Beef Producers, said ...
See Details:
Manitoba announces reduced rent on agricultural Crown land
-
Small businesses and climate activists are looking at what the province’s newly introduced “gas tax holiday” bill could mean for Manitobans. The bill was introduced Thursday by Finance Minister Adrien Sala, and offers to remove provincial tax from gasoline and diesel. That means 14 cents per litre will stay in ...
See Details:
Who benefits from Manitoba’s ‘gas tax holiday,’ and for how long?
-
Halifax Transit is making a push to tackle what they say has been a growing issue for their workers. During the city’s transportation standing committee meeting on Thursday, Philip Herritt, the director of transit operations for Halifax Transit, outlined a proposal to help address violent incidents happening on buses city-wide. ...
See Details:
Halifax Transit pushes to get safety officers aboard buses and ferries
-
If you’re a listener of QR Calgary on the the AM frequency, the broadcast you typically hear will be unavailable as we do some maintenance on our transmitter towers starting Friday Nov. 24 at 11 p.m. until Saturday Nov. 25 at 5 a.m. This means we’re off the air for ...
See Details:
QR Calgary 770AM will be temporarily off-air for maintenance work
-
-
The city of Saskatoon has approved recommendations allowing for more housing opportunities, hoping to access federal funds and ultimately change what housing looks like in the city. “This is a generational shift in what housing looks like. More people will have access to stable and affordable housing, with walkable services ...
See Details:
City of Saskatoon takes steps to address housing affordability
-
James Busch stands atop a hill, overlooking new trainees undertaking a firefighting course. Below, navy sailors have a tall task ahead of them: extinguishing a burning helicopter. The chopper is a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, but it’s not a real helicopter. The near-exact replica of the chopper, in use for the ...
See Details:
Canadian Military trains to extinguish burning helicopters
-
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Toronto pet owners face ‘excruciating decisions’ in cost-of-living crisis
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Black Friday weekend kicks off in Kingston
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
City of Regina to select new REAL board of directors during special council meeting
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Doug Ford says he will waive cabinet privilege in RCMP Greenbelt investigation
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Pedestrian struck and killed on Highway 3 in southern Alberta
-
The Restorative Action Program in Saskatoon is seeing an increase in demand as students struggle with their mental health. RAP Saskatoon president Leane Durand said their facilitators act as a bridge and are there to listen and offer supports to kids facing conflict. 2:09 Violence against teachers increasing in Canadian ...
See Details:
Ontario watchdog to review new information from Nova Scotia mass shooting inquiry
OTHER NEWS
Those travelling across the Halifax Harbour over the next two weekends can expect a lengthier commute, as the 53-year-old MacKay Bridge will be closed as it undergoes critical repairs. In ...
Read more »
The City of Toronto says it will begin to clear out an encampment in Kensington Market on Friday morning due to it being an “immediate public safety risk.” Russell Baker, ...
Read more »
Residents have been allowed to return home as stabilization works get underway on a rockslide in Penticton, B.C. A rockslide evacuated 25 homes in the Pleasant Valley Mobile Home Park ...
Read more »
As mundane urban city life churns on around them, a growing population of people are seeking shelter, trying to survive another night. Some are in tents tucked among the trees ...
Read more »
Whether it’s a big box store or online, the Black Friday weekend has been a concern for local businesses. Sarah Amies, executive director of the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone, ...
Read more »
A timber company working on the overdue and over-budget West Kelowna city hall project has filed a civil suit, claiming they’re owed hundreds of thousands of dollars. Seagate Mass Timber, ...
Read more »
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has blocked a motion to launch a provincial auditor investigation into the Ministry of Social Services policy on hotel stays. The motion made by NDP social ...
Read more »