A History of Inequity
Municipal Property taxes in Vancouver
Where we are today
Vancouver’s current city council has recognized the serious tax inequity and attempted to gradually correct the imbalance between residential and business property taxpayers.
In 2006, council formed the Property Tax Policy Review Commission, an expert group to review the problem and recommend a longer-term policy for fair taxes. This year, on the commission’s recommendation, the majority on council voted to apply a one per cent tax shift in each of the next five years until residents pay 52 per cent and businesses pay 48 per cent of the share. Council also froze taxes in 2007 and applied a one per cent shift in 2006.
Understanding Vancouver’s property tax policy
Since 1983, the City of Vancouver has had the power to determine municipal property tax distribution. In that year, the ratio of commercial to residential property tax was approximately 2:1. Today, the ratio has swelled to more than 5:1, the highest in Canada. Clearly, we are out of balance.
The Vancouver Charter requires council to annually review the tax share paid by each property class. Initially this power was used to ensure that residential properties did not pay an escalating share of the municipal property tax in comparison with business properties.
Although previous councils should have made small tax shifts from business to residential classes each year, it was politically difficult to do. Beginning in 1994, some city councils began shifting one per cent annually, but this was only done for four years. As a result, commercial properties continued to bear a disproportionate share of the municipal property tax burden.
Where we are headed
The Vancouver Fair will work to ensure successive city councils apply the one per cent tax shift in the following four years, and implement a permanent, fair tax policy. |
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