The New Brunswick Real Estate Association is calling for property tax fairness in the province and believes it’s time to end so-called double taxation.
The organization says the property tax assessment scandal is only part of a larger problem which has become a deterrent for investment in the province.
Association spokesperson Kari McBride says the provincial levy applied to non-owner occupied properties is having a negative impact on the economy.
“A lot of people are interested in purchasing homes for their children while they are in university. But that’s not something that’s equitable either because again they are getting double-taxed,” she notes.
McBride says property investors are putting money into the economy but yet are being penalized the most.
She adds business owners also face some of the highest rates of property tax in Canada noting how a New Brunswick business pays more per $100,000 assessment than a business in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.
