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Whalen Says Government Must Prevent 'Assessment Shock' |
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Written by NS Liberal Party
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Monday, 16 January 2006 |
Liberal Municipal Relations Critic, Diana Whalen, says the government needs to examine the way it calculates property assessments in light of the rapid increase in assessments throughout the province.
Assessment notices were mailed to 570,000 Nova Scotia property owners Monday. In some parts of the province, assessments have gone up sharply, such as Halifax Regional Municipality, where assessments in some districts have risen by as much as 18 per cent over last year.
Whalen said the assessment base is purely market-driven, and doesn't take into account the property owners' ability to pay for the increased taxes that go along with the higher assessments.
"For many homeowners on fixed incomes the burden of high assessments is hurting their ability to stay in their own home," said Whalen.
"The provincial government has failed to address this issue for Nova Scotians who are being hit yet again with assessment shock," she added. "It's time rules are applied to protect homeowners from unreasonable annual tax increases." |
