Mixed Views From Taxpayers Federation On Throne Speech

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has mixed views about the recent throne speech in New Brunswick.

Renaud Brossard said they are glad the Higgs government plans to reintroduce binding arbitration changes for police and firefighters.

It would require arbitrators to consider several criteria during arbitrations, including a municipality’s ability to pay.

“The government rightfully recognizes the need for ability-to-pay legislation to help cities keep employee compensation under control,” said Brossard, the federation’s interim Atlantic director. “We all know the taxpayers’ ability to pay is limited and that certainly needs to be taken into account during municipal wage negotiations.”

But Brossard said they are disappointed the province plans to remove what is known as the Assessment Gap Exemption.

The exemption grandfathered assessment gaps resulting from a three per cent cap on residential assessment hikes in 2011 and 2012.

“Removing the Assessment Gap Exemption is just a fancy way of saying the government will increase your property tax bills,” said Brossard. “That’s something New Brunswick taxpayers could ill afford before this economic uncertainty and can certainly not afford today.”

But the provincial government argues removing the exemptions will result in about $8.3 million more for local governments once fully implemented.

Data provided by the province shows about 102,000 homes currently benefit from the exemptions. Based on 2021 assessment data, the average exemption value is $6,900 and its removal will result in an average property tax increase of about $100.

Homeowners impacted by the change will be protected by the spike protection mechanism which limits the amount their property assessment can increase to 10 per cent per year.

If the proposed changes are approved in the legislature, nearly all exemptions would be removed by 2025.

Brossard said the Higgs government also missed a chance to show its commitment to fiscal responsibility in the throne speech.

He said the proposed $183-million deficit is a lot of money and is calling on the government to start planning to get the budget back to black.

“We do not know how long this crisis will last. There’s one thing we know for sure is that taxpayers have a limited ability to pay.”