A group of city councillors in Calgary are requesting a reduction in the property tax increase for this year by rolling back millions of dollars from the recently approved budget.
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This motion was presented by Councillors Terry Wong, Sonya Sharp, Dan McLean, Andre Chabot, Jennifer Wyness and Sean Chu at Tuesday’s executive committee meeting, and it was unanimously approved for further review by the committee.
The motion directs the city administration to search for $23 million in savings to offset the cost of a one per cent shift in the tax share from businesses to residents, to provide some relief from this year’s property tax bills.
This tax shift, along with a package of 28 investment items in November’s budget, has caused an overall property tax increase of 7.8% for homeowners in Calgary this year.
The council will debate this motion at their meeting on Jan. 30.
“In this time of unaffordability, a 7.8 per cent tax increase, obviously people are very upset about it,” Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said. “We have to reconsider and see what we can do to find some savings.”
During budget deliberations in November, the city said the tax shift represented two per cent of the property tax increase, or four dollars per month for the average homeowner.
However, it remains unclear how much relief Calgary homeowners could see in their tax bills if the motion is approved next week.
“I think every penny counts,” Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp told reporters following the meeting.
