The higher than usual commercial property tax increase this year is due mostly to an increase in school and regional hospital district taxes, according to the City of Parksville.
The provincial government reduced the school tax portion of the property tax bill by about 75 per cent last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year the province reinstated the full school tax amount and also increased the total school tax remittance by 10.9 per cent over the pre-COVID amount, the city said in a media release.
“The regional hospital district tax requisition also increased in 2021 by 36.7 per cent compared to the 2020 tax amount. The city is required to collect the school and hospital taxes from the taxpayer and then these amounts are remitted to the province and the Regional District of Nanaimo respectively,” reads the release.
The city said this year it also increased its portion of property tax billing by 3.5 per cent, with 0.5 per cent to be put aside into a capital reserve for future capital replacements.
