Out of control property taxes and unfairness!

74% of businesses agree municipal governments are NOT PAYING ATTENTION to small businesses.

Property tax fairness is getting worse!

Property Tax Fairness Ratio* for Four Major Municipalities in Alberta

Property tax gap for 4 cities in Alberta: 1. Calgary (4.26 in 2023; 5.07 in 2027) 2. Edmonton (2.98 in 2023; 3.23 in 2027) 3. Red Deer (2.13 in 2023; 2.16 in 2027) 4. Lethbridge (2.58 in 2023; 2.62 in 2027)

* Small businesses are greatly impacted by the spending decisions of municipal governments because they pay a disproportionate share of property taxes in their communities. The “property tax fairness ratio” is a measure of the difference of what commercial properties are assessed at versus the share of property taxes that commercial properties pay. A fairness ratio greater than 1 indicates unfavourable treatment for businesses, where the commercial portion of the property tax share is greater than the commercial portion of the property assessment share.

Businesses make up 21% of property tax assessments.

Image of a pie chart showing 1. 79% for Total property assessment share of all other properties 2. 21% for Business share of property assessments

BUT they pay 43% of the property taxes.

Image of a pie chart showing 1. 43% for Business share of total property taxes 2. 57% for Property tax share of all other properties

Yearly business savings if municipalities shifted 2% of the property tax share to residents:

1. Edmonton: $6,737 2. Red Deer: $5,033 3. Calgary: $5,393 4. Lethbridge: $8,068

Mayor & Council

CC: My Member of Parliament

Alberta municipalities are raising property taxes to spend excessively. My small business can’t continue to keep up with rapidly increasing property taxes.

I need you to take the following action now to ensure my business can grow and our local communities thrive:

  • Not introduce further cost increases (i.e. increased license and permitting fees)
  • Commit to lower and fairer property taxes
  • Reduce spending by finding internal efficiencies
  • Have a construction mitigation plan that compensates businesses for construction-related revenue losses
  • Reduce municipal red tape
  • Encourage shop local campaigns