Many Canadians feel that the cost of local housing, whether purchased or rented, is beyond their means. Affordability is especially an issue in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.
Less in the news are non-residential properties and the hardships their rising property taxes are causing to small businesses. It’s an expense that is causing small businesses to relocate, reconsider expansions and, in some instances, shutter, notes a recent Globe and Mail Report on Business.
The process for assessing a commercial property’s value varies across the country. Some municipalities base commercial assessments on a property’s best potential use, as opposed to actual use, and as a result “end up with a property liable for a tax bill that doesn’t reflect the income stream the property is earning,” notes the article, quoting the executive director of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas.