October 8th, 2024

Letter writer’s number crunching on city taxation rates add up


By Lethbridge Herald on December 8, 2022.

Editor

Thank you, Joan Haig for confirming my calculations. My number ($495) is lower than yours ($661.29) for two reasons. First, because I rounded down to 22 per cent. Actually, 22.01433692 per cent of $3,000 is $660.43, practically the same as yours; but city council only controls 76 per cent of that, which really means the fourth year increase due to council’s portion is $501.93. However, I also rounded down the tax on a $285,500 home to $3,000. 

Studying the city’s online GPS tax map, I calculated the 2022 tax rate as $91.67 per thousand dollars assessed value. 

Using that, the tax on a $285,500 single family residence would be $3,114.35. City council’s portion is 76 per cent of that, which works out to $2,366.91. And 22.01433692 per cent of that is $521.06. I will go back to rounding for the rest of this discussion. $520 divided by four is $130 in year one, $260 in year two, $390 in year three, and $520 in year four for a total tax increase of $1,300 after the fourth year. 

With no further increases, the tax on an average-market-value, single-family residence will remain at $520 more than the 2022 tax but only if the assessed market value also stays constant for the next four years.

 Historically, assessed market values go up. My calculation of $130 each year is practically identical to council’s number $129.93. 

Mayor Hyggen told the truth, and nothing but the truth. Joan Haig and I are just adding the whole-truth part.

Marinus Boogaart

Lethbridge

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