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City of North Vancouver property tax to rise by 3.9%

The City of North Vancouver is upping its taxes by 3.9 per cent but you better read the fine print before getting out the chequebook.
NVC

The City of North Vancouver is upping its taxes by 3.9 per cent but you better read the fine print before getting out the chequebook.

Because of the way the city divides its taxes between homeowners and businesses and because of the rapidly climbing assessments of single-family homes, single-family homeowners are going to be facing stiffer tax increases.

The average assessment for a single-family home in the City of North Vancouver has gone up by 6.7 per cent to $962,308 since 2014, compared to condo and townhouse units, which went up by one per cent to $441,143.

Under provincial law, local governments cannot apply one tax rate to single-family homes and another to multi-family homes. As a result, single-family properties will be getting a disproportionate hit when the tax bill comes — $195.68 higher this year compared to last year. Multi-family units will see their total tax bill go up by $35.

Of the 3.9 per cent, one per cent is being socked away for the eventual replacement of the Harry Jerome Recreation Centre and another one per cent is being set aside for future infrastructure needs.

Council had previously considered a higher increase but ultimately landed on 3.9 per cent. How that tax increase gets divvied up between businesses and homeowners, however, was still contested at the council table. The city, along with most Lower Mainland municipalities, has been trying to reduce the amount of the total tax burden that falls to small business and shift it onto homeowners.

Coun. Pam Bookham pushed for council to apply the tax increase equally across the board after arguing that previous attempts to shift the tax burden onto residential properties had little impact on the cost of doing business.

Coun. Craig Keating countered that the city’s business tax multiple is now in the “middle of the pack” in the Lower Mainland, compared to 15 years ago when it was near the top.

And the total tax impact on the average single-family homeowner would be $18 per year or $1.50 per month more than it would be under Bookham’s preferred option. “You can’t even get two letters to your aunt in Ontario for $1.50 per month,” Keating said.