2016 property tax increases

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by heep223

You own your home. You took out a secured loan to buy it.

The bank has a claim on their share of the value of the property, in the case that you default on your loan with them, as per the agreement you signed.

Ya ok nevermind. Thought I had something there. They don't own it but can take it away if you don't pay.

[BigNumbers]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

That got me thinking. Why do we pay property taxes based on the full value of our property when in most of our cases the banks still own a percentage of the house. Shouldn't the banks be the ones paying part of the property tax?

Are you a Freeman on the Land, by chance?

[V]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

You Guys are not privy to the ****show down here in Lethbridge. We have the highest city taxes in AB. My property taxes have gone up over $1000 in the last seven years while the assessment is actually less then it was in 2009. This years total is just over $3800 up 3.5%.from 2015.

That's not the highest in the province then. In 2014 I lived in a house in St. Albert, appraised at $420,000. I paid over $4200 in property taxes. No idea how much it's moved since then, but I'm guessing they didn't go down.

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by V

That's not the highest in the province then. In 2014 I lived in a house in St. Albert, appraised at $420,000. I paid over $4200 in property taxes. No idea how much it's moved since then, but I'm guessing they didn't go down.

485,000 assessed value and property taxes at 5300

[MoneyGuy]

I'd be shocked if any community in Alberta has higher taxes than St. Albert. One of their councillors told me they don't mind as it keeps undesirables out.

[Johnny199r]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I'd be shocked if any community in Alberta has higher taxes than St. Albert. One of their councillors told me they don't mind as it keeps undesirables out.

They have no industry to keep residential taxes low compared to somewhere like Sherwood park.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

That got me thinking. Why do we pay property taxes based on the full value of our property when in most of our cases the banks still own a percentage of the house. Shouldn't the banks be the ones paying part of the property tax?

I have zero issue with property tax. Capital gains on the other hand...why do I pay the government anything because I made a good investment decision? But that is a tangent and really a whole other discussion.

[rain_e]

Originally Posted by return to the red

485,000 assessed value and property taxes at 5300

$810,000 assessed value and property taxes of $5003 (this is Calgary).

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by stampsx2

Ya ok nevermind. Thought I had something there. They don't own it but can take it away if you don't pay.

Because you owe them money, and are essentially using your home as collateral if you can't pay up.

[IliketoPuck]

Originally Posted by Slava

I have zero issue with property tax. Capital gains on the other hand...why do I pay the government anything because I made a good investment decision? But that is a tangent and really a whole other discussion.

Because government?

I fully expect the TFSA to get capped in the next 10 years when the government realizes how much taxable money they are missing out on.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by Slava

I have zero issue with property tax. Capital gains on the other hand...why do I pay the government anything because I made a good investment decision? But that is a tangent and really a whole other discussion.

Why should I pay the government anything because I have a job and earn a salary at it?

[mrkajz44]

I never liked the taxation of long term capital gains.

Short term it makes sense, let's say I buy stock for $100 and sell it in one or two years for $180, then I made $80 and should pay tax on that.

Long term is different though. Say buy an asset for $100 and sell it in 30 years for $180? Did you really make $80, or was that just inflation? At 2% per year for 30 years, the $100 from 30 years is now equivalent to $180, so by paying tax on that "gain", I'm actually behind in my purchasing power.

Back on topic: My taxes were up about 15%. I'm not exactly sure what my numbers were last year (paid through the mortgage payment), but I think that assessed value is still really close to what is was last year, for what it's worth.

[OMG!WTF!]

Originally Posted by squiggs96

Why should I pay the government anything because I have a job and earn a salary at it?

I think the theory on that is earning money from capital gains requires you to earn money via income, pay tax on that money, and use the after tax money to earn a return that has just as much chance of going down as it does up. I believe as well that if you earn your regular income from capital gains, in most cases it is taxed as regular income. Like I can't day trade and call it capital gains.

I also think property tax should be vaguely correlated to income as well. It's not reasonable to expect increases to continue at a pace that passes income.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Home insurance is kind of the one area I'd expect / understand rates to be going up though. Probably too soon for the fire stuff I guess, but for sure clearly there's been a renewed look at the risk profile for home insurance.

Auto coverage is going up as well next year. All those burnt vehicles fall under auto policies, not home.

[Locke]

And it appears they've got another Civic 4.7% hike in the pipe for 2017.

So the amount that just went up almost 15% this year is going to go up another 4.7% next year not including anything the Province wants to tack on, and we do know they love their taxes so I expect the Province to add something.

[Deegee]

My taxes are 3K on a small 1000 SF home. Didsbury taxes are consistently higher than our neighbors to the north (Olds) and south (Carstairs).

[Clever_Iggy]

Originally Posted by IliketoPuck

It truly feels like we are getting it from all sides right now.

A co-worker just mentioned to me that in addition to the $6.50/month charge for green bins, we will also be having our garbage collection reduce to bi-weekly. Is this accurate?

This is true. However, if the service being provided doesn't meet needs, just use any of the different bins however you see fit - garbage in the recycling, recycling in the compost, etc.

[stampsx2]

Originally Posted by Clever_Iggy

This is true. However, if the service being provided doesn't meet needs, just use any of the different bins however you see fit - garbage in the recycling, recycling in the compost, etc.

That seems to be what everybody is doing now. 90% of garbage is recyclable or compostable?

[TheAlpineOracle]

Haven't checked my mail in a while, this thread has made a stop at my mailbox inevitable on my way home tonight.

[chemgear]

Escoba has it's own thread but of course many other businesses are facing big tax increases. Probably going a lot of the businesses pinning hopes on the Stampede aren't going to make it long after that. But 8% down isn't bad all things considered.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/06/07...dimed-to-death

“We’ve heard some people say they’re hanging on until the Calgary Stampede and hoping for a bump in business,” he said.

On Wednesday, Adele Stevens will be at city hall appealing her $45,000 property tax bill, which just two years ago was a much more manageable $22,000.
“We are getting nickel and dimed to death in every direction,” said Stevens, who said she’s also faced an 8% drop in business from last year.

Stevens, who noted two other businesses on her retail block in mixed-use residential neighbourhood — Fresh Kitchen catering’s storefront and Altadore Barber, which had been operating for 45 years — have recently had to close their doors, said she’s having to consider laying off staff at her 53-employee strong salon.