Ben Schmidt

Welcome back to benschmidt.tv this is the 5 part video series where we are looking at property taxes of New Brunswick home owners and the issues surrounding them. We are very fortunate today to have Brian MacDonald of the Progressive Conservative Party. Brian is running in the Fredericton-SIlverwood riding. Thank you very much for joining us.

Brian - "Great thank for having me"

Ben - "As you are aware the New Brunswick Real Estate Association is lobbying the electoral candidates about the issues they have found surrounding property taxes on behalf of the home owners of New Brunswick. The three main issues are (1) assessments, how we are assessing these homes, (2) low/fixed income families and (3) the issue of double tax on non-owner occupied properties. Are you aware of these issues?

Brian - "I am Ben, and very concerned about them."

Ben - "First things first is assessments. Do you feel as a homeowner yourself, do you feel we are assessing these homes at fair market value as well do you feel it's clear and easy to understand for the homeowner, when they get their tax bill, how they are assessing these homes?

Brian - "In short Ben, the system is not working right now. I don't think it is clear. You get your bill and you know how much you have to pay. That part is clear, but the rest of the system is not clear, it is not transparent enough. I think what we need to do is assess the whole system. Our party is committed to a cap and change solution, which is capping the assessments at 3% for the next two years. We will then take that time to sit down with all of the key stake holders which would include: renters, real estate representatives, landlords, municipalities, and government. Sitting down with these key players and deciding on a new model for evaluating real estate assessments.

Ben - "So change is coming?

Brian - "We have change coming.

Ben - "Next question is about low income families, fixed income families, such as seniors. It's unfortunate that seniors are being pushed out of the home that they love, maybe the homes they raised their children in because of rising assessments and rates and it is no longer affordable for them to stay in their home. How do you plan on addressing this very urgent issue?

Brian - "It is an urgent issue. The first thing is we are going to freeze property tax assessments for seniors. I think that is a great first step. Next thing, as I said, we are going to sit down with the key stake holders so they can all have a part in the new model. You pointed to another part of this, which is we want to encourage seniors to stay in their homes as long as possible. It's best for them, and it's best for the community. We value seniors, we value what they add to the community. The other part of this is that we have to work with the federal government that controls the taxation on sales of real estate to make it easier for people to buy and sell property and have few tax disincentives and tax penalties when they sell property. That will allow the market to keep going and allow people to adopt their lifestyles to their house. A lot of people downsize and that sort of thing, we want to encourage people to own a home that fits their lifestyle.

Ben - "Concerning the issue of double tax, we are the only province in Canada that has double tax on non-owner occupied properties. That is the camp, cottage, piece of land and multi-unit dwellings. The New Brunswick Real Estate Association, as well as Realtors, as well as homeowners feel that it is disproportionally putting a tax burden on businesses as well as the renter. That renter may want to get out, and own their own home at some point, and they are having a harder and harder time, with the landlords passing the bill onto the renter. How do you plan on tackling this issue?

Brian - "I think it's a very important issue and we are committed to reviewing it. It will be apart of this holistic review we are talking about when we adopt a new system for tax assessment. The fundamental issue surrounding this, is we want to pass the tax savings onto the tenants. I think that is very important. It goes back to the people on a limited or fixed income, we need to make sure those tax savings go to those people, the ones who need it the most. That is also good for landlords, as that is less tax that they have to pay out, so it benefits everyone and I think a review of the whole system is a really good thing.

Brian - "I am always very keen to hear from everyone and their input, especially on these issues that effect a lot of people. So the best way to get in touch with me is to email me directly which is brian@brian-macdonald.com or my website which is www.brian-macdonald.com

If you have any questions about property taxes or a question for a Realtor in general you can email me at ben.schmidt@me.com