Property Taxes

Your Taxes Will Not Be Forgiven

Your Taxes Will Not Be Forgiven

May 6, 2020 at 11:38 am

The CBRM will borrow from the province to fund a property-tax deferral program to assist residents and businesses “significantly impacted” by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first thing you must understand about this program — and you know this is vital because it appeared on the very first slide presented toRead More

‘Hi Karan and Malcom’: The RV Park Correspondence

‘Hi Karan and Malcom’: The RV Park Correspondence

June 5, 2019 at 11:10 am

I FOIPOPed all correspondence between the CBRM planning department and Chris Skidmore — the Calgary-based developer who wants to establish an RV Park in Big Pond Centre — because I thought the planning department seemed to be rather decidedly in Skidmore’s corner on this project and I wanted to knowRead More

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

March 9, 2018 at 10:00 am

Equalize this Developments on the equalization front this week must be gratifying to the stalwart members of Nova Scotians for Equalization Fairness (NSEF), a CBRM-based advocacy group that has been meeting monthly to discuss the issue of municipal financing for 15 long years. Against the backdrop of budget discussions, whichRead More

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

September 1, 2017 at 10:31 am

Lease released The first rule of accessing information from public bodies is “just ask for it,” and sometimes — hallelujah! — just asking is all it takes. For instance, I asked the CBRM for a copy of the lease signed between the municipality and Danny Ellis’s company, the catchily namedRead More

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

Fast & Curious: Short Takes on Random Things

August 9, 2017 at 11:25 am

Year One The Cape Breton Spectator turned one on August 3! The anniversary almost slipped by unnoticed — I knew it was in August, but I’d convinced myself it was later in the month. Luckily for me, my family not only remembered it, they marked it. There was a cakeRead More

Property Taxes: Why NS Needs to Doff Its CAP

Property Taxes: Why NS Needs to Doff Its CAP

May 10, 2017 at 12:20 pm

Nova Scotia’s Capped Assessment Program (CAP) is a hot mess. The motivation behind it is laudable: no one should lose their house because its assessed value has skyrocketed and they can no longer afford the taxes. If you own a modest home along the Mira River, for example, and Ritchie McRitchfaceRead More

By Dori (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Property Taxes: A Reader Explains Area Rates

May 3, 2017 at 1:15 pm

Note: In the Spectator’s ongoing series on property taxes, we have yet to touch on the subject of area rates, which are usually levied to provide services (like regional transportation or fire hydrants) to residents within a specific geographic area. Luckily, a reader has done the job for us, writing to explain the latest developments inRead More

Property Taxes: The Province’s Share

Property Taxes: The Province’s Share

April 19, 2017 at 11:35 am

Having established that property taxes are the domain of municipalities in Nova Scotia, I now have to admit that they are also, in some instances, the domain of the province. I know, right? Just when you think you’ve got a nice, black and white distinction going, someone has to comeRead...

Property Taxes: Exemptions, PILs & Lord Durham

Property Taxes: Exemptions, PILs & Lord Durham

April 12, 2017 at 12:00 pm

This week, in our ongoing exploration of property taxes in Nova Scotia generally (and the CBRM in particular), we’re going to look at exempt properties, payments in lieu of taxes (or PILs) and  stuff I forgot to tell you last week, not necessarily in that order. We’re doing this becauseRead More

Property Taxes: A Primer

Property Taxes: A Primer

April 5, 2017 at 1:15 pm

We’ve got to talk about Nova Scotia’s Capped Assessment Program (CAP). No, wait! Don’t leave! I know taxes pack that special one-two punch of boring AND painful, but I will do my best to keep the discussion interesting and we really, really do need to talk about the CAP because it’s makingRead More