Released on February 5, 2014
The Government of Saskatchewan will set a new mill rate factor limit of 9.0 for the 2014 taxation year for all municipalities to support fairer taxation among municipal property tax classes.“By fostering an ongoing climate of taxation fairness, we will help sustain growth and its benefits for all Saskatchewan residents,” Government Relations Minister Jim Reiter said.
The majority of municipalities currently have substantially lower ratios than 9.0. This new limit is to mitigate those circumstances where commercial, industrial, residential and agricultural property owners are not balanced fairly.
The maximum ratio of highest to lowest mill rate factors that will be implemented by any Saskatchewan municipality in 2014 is 9.0 - retroactive to January 1.
The new limit follows consultations conducted with local government organizations, municipalities and business stakeholders, after an interim mill rate factor limit was announced in April 2013.
All property in a municipality is classified by various types - either agricultural, residential or commercial. A municipality may use mill rate factors to transfer some costs of public services from one property classification to another. Mill rate factors adjust the mill rate, but can potentially result in property taxation of a specific type of property being either disproportionately higher or lower than another. A maximum ratio mitigates this risk by putting a limit on how much can be transferred from one property classification to another.
This change to municipal mill rate factors does not apply to education property taxes.
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For more information, contact:
Dan Palmer
Government Relations
Regina
Phone: 306-787-2155