Victoria property taxes could increase by 9% this year
Property taxes in Victoria could rise sharply this year as the city grapples with inflation.
Property taxes in the city could go up by nearly nine per cent this year.
City staff have recommended an 8.99 per cent increase in taxes to maintain the city's level of services.
The recommended increase is driven largely by inflation, salaries and supply chain issues.
Staff estimate that the higher taxes would translate to an additional $251 per year for homeowners, and more than $600 per year for a typical business in the city.
The proposed increase has not yet been discussed by city council. Councillors will debate the recommended increase Thursday.
One city councillor told CTV News they think the increase is too high.
"I know our food costs, our mortgage costs, our insurance costs, and I think this is something this council really has to consider," said Coun. Matt Dell.
Phil Nicholls, who owns a running store in downtown Victoria, says he wouldn't pass the new expense of higher property taxes onto customers, which would hurt his bottom line.
"Those are all costs, also, of running business," he said.
Bruce Williams with the Victoria Chamber of Commerce says that attitude likely won't be the norm among business owners.
"This is one more time where the cost of business will be passed on to the consumer," he said. "It's a fact. We see it every day."
An official statement on how much taxes will rise in the city will likely come in about a month.
Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto notes that city council has yet to decide what its spending priorities are for its new budget.
She adds that the city's current policy is to limit tax increases to the rate of inflation plus one per cent.
It's a policy the city may abandon given how high inflation is right now.
"The first thing we have to do is confirm what policy is going to drive our decisions, and then marry that with whatever our priorities could be," said Alto.
Last year, the city's tax increase was less than four per cent, says Alto.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.