No tax increase for businesses this year, Edmonton council votes

Businesses in Edmonton are getting a bit of a break on their taxes this year after city council voted Wednesday to freeze the municipal portion of the tax bill for 2020.

At the same time, council agreed to increase the municipal tax levy on homeowners by 2.5 per cent up from a 2.1 per cent approved in December.

The approval factors in a change from theprovince, with the Alberta governmentnot collecting the education portion of the tax levy. That meansbusinesses will end up paying two per cent less and homeowners, typically, no more than they did last year.

Council chose the formulaover another optionto increase taxes for both by 1.3 per cent,which would have yielded the same overall municipal increase of 1.3 per cent.

A 1.3-per-cent tax increase for the owner of an average home in Edmonton would equal about $30 more a year, the city said.

Coun. Ben Henderson voted for the zero per cent increase for businesses, saying it will have a profound impacton businessesrebounding after COVID-19 pandemic measures are lifted. He said he spoke with some of hisconstituents, who supported this option as well.

"I think because they recognize that our ability to bounce backas a cityis going to be far more dependent on making sure our businesses are healthy than whether or not we can give a $30break to homeowners this year."

The amount homeowners are billed willvary based on their assessed values, which have shifted since last year,the city said in a news release sent after the council vote.

Multi-family properties went up in value more than single-family homes.

"Generally, about half of property owners will see higher increaseswhile the other half will see lower increases or even decreases," the release said.

The city said the owner of a typical home valued at $387,000 will see a decrease of $28.

The decrease in tax for a single family dwelling is related to market value assessment.

Property tax notices will be mailed on May 21 and are due in June.

Council agreed last month to defer penalties on unpaid taxes until Sept. 1.

The decision made Wednesday is part of the adjusted $3 billion operating budget for 2020.