VERACITY OR FICTION

Disinformation Continues

   Walter Neufeld and I have had disagreements over the years with respect to property taxes and tax rates. The background for our discussions on the topic is the amalgamation of Abbotsford and the former Electoral Area known as Area 'H', where Mr. Neufeld resides. After amalgamation, property tax increases were phased in over a five-year period, as the difference between Electoral Area taxes and municipal taxes is significant, regardless of which Electoral Area one chooses to examine.

   In Mr. Neufeld's most recent comments on the subject (see Link), he claims that Abbotsford has among the highest taxes in the province, and in particular, higher than the local governments listed below. Furthermore, he claims his information is based on provincial statistics, which he conveniently omits to include. His claims, by the way, are not true! I suspect Mr. Neufeld prefers fiction!

   I couldn't resist checking the veracity of his claims, so I did visit the Ministry of Community, Sport, and Culture website, and examined the data provided for 2014. Because there is such a wide disparity across the province with respect to property values and taxes, the government ministry provides calculations based on a "Representative House". It is, they say, the only way to draw fair comparisons across the province.

   To give Mr.Neufeld the benefit of the doubt regarding his claims, I checked two sets of figures:

       A. General Municipal Total
       B. Total Residential Property Taxes and Charges

   Here are the figures provided by the Ministry, for 2014:

                               Source: Ministry Website

   The table also indicates how each municipality is policed, which is very important to be mindful of when using these statistics. It has been estimated that jurisdictions using RCMP have a subsidy advantage of about 10% over those local governments employing their own municipal (M) police forces. Coincidentally, the only two cities in the table above, that have a lower “General Total” than Abbotsford, are policed by the RCMP.

   The following table is included here again, as it provides a larger and more complete snapshot of the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, with respect to this discussion.

                               Source: Data based on Ministry Website

   For more clarity on the topic of Assessed Property Values, Tax Rates, and Tax Revenues, please read the article I provided last month. Link