Tax Hike For Residents

CHESTERMERE – When the Redford government released the budget March 7th most people were relieved to hear there were no new tax increases. However just a day later Mayor Patricia Matthews was in shock when she was told the residents of Chestermere will be facing a 53% tax hike on the education portion of the property tax. Yes you heard right, 53 percent which equates to about $400 for the average home in Chestermere. And if that’s not shocking enough this tax increase is due in June when the taxes are due. The education taxes are collected by the Town or City and then given to the government to distribute. The Redford government is removing a 13 year old mitigation program that once pooled education taxes across Alberta and is now replacing it with a tax based on the value of homes. The Town has no ability to set the rates for the Education property tax nor does the Town have any authority over how it is managed or distributed. The removal of the program came without any warning and Mayor Matthews says she has no control over the decision. “It should have been phased in over several years so people could build it into their budget”. “This really hits those on fixed income very hard and it’s not fair that there was no warning”.
There are 349 municipalities in Alberta and half of them were part of the mitigation program. The province set up the program in 2000 to give the fast growing communities like Chestermere some relief on the taxes. Airdrie has to take a 22 per cent increase and Fort McMurray is reported to have their tax increase by as much as 96 per cent. Calgary residents will see the opposite happening and will see a $40 decrease in the education portion of their property taxes. The province says the hike will bring all Alberta municipalities on a more level playing field.
“We will do whatever we can to get the message to the Provincial government that this massive increase is untenable to our residents and that a multi-year phase in should be considered so people can properly plan their household budget to absorb this,” Mayor Matthews added. “We sincerely hope the Province listens and reconsiders this sudden and unexpected burden on residents.”