Property tax assessments jump 20%

Tax assessment notices are arriving in the mail this week, and residents of St. John's are seeing on average a 20 per cent increase in the evaluation of their homes.

That will translate into a 20 per cent increase in their property taxes in January, unless the city sees fit to reduce the mil rate, the rate used to calculate taxes.

The evaluation for tax purposes on businesses is up 25 per cent.

But some are facing much larger increases, particularly if they live in an area where higher income residents are buying homes and driving up the prices, a process called gentrification.

Ray Cox was shocked when he opened his tax assessment notice this week.

The values of the artist's home and his separate studio on Quidi Vidi Road in St. John's are both up a whopping 66 per cent.

He blames the jump on gentrification in The Battery area where he lives.  

"I've decided to make my modest living and way of life here in the downtown, and have done so for a long time. I've lived in the house here for 30 years.

"I'm a good example of the economy squeezing the old [residents] from downtown," Cox said. "I would like to maintain a modest income, and live here as I have, and not have to get involved in the superheated economy."

He said there have been no additions or renovations to his home since the last assessment.

In fact, he said, there have been few changes made to the house since it was built.

It doesn't even have a fitted kitchen or modern flooring, just the original wood floors.

"This house was built in 1919. Now, I'll probably get dinged because it's much like it was in 1919," he laughed.

Mayor Dennis O'Keefe has been fielding a lot of irate calls on the new assessments. 

He said city council can ease taxpayers' pain if it chooses to.

"What we can control here at City Hall, of course, is the mil rate, and that's very important, because the mil rate is the rate at which the assessed value will be assessed," he said.

Council has done that in the past. Even if the next council reduces the mil rate by the full 20 per cent, however, taxes for Cox will still jump nearly 50 per cent next year.

He's now looking at appealing both assessments.