Taxation and the middle class

[jeffster]

Are we really sugar coating a tax hike on behalf if the City?

Call it a fee then - is this happening only this year with a dip in 2022 back to 2020 rates (or fees?)? I know the distinction between rate and fee and rate --> ultimately amount paid is a by product of the "value" of the house (re-assessed every few years etc)...what are we talking about here?

Fees (such as water) are being frozen at 2020 rates for the 2021 tax year. Expect the rates to increase again in 2022. Other fees could include ice rental, community centre rentals, etc.

Tax rates on home are a harding beast to figure out, as quite often the mill rate has to change -- it goes down if home prices go up to fast, and the mill rate goes up if home prices decreases. Overall, cities try to keep a homes value at a consistent value, and therefor property taxes go up in a nice smooth linear.

Toronto is a good example where taxes go up every year (just like here) but because homes are over-valued, Toronto ends up with one of the lowest tax rates in North America. For example, Kitchener's mill rate (including Regional taxes) is 1.1% -- Toronto's is less than half this at 0.44%.