Next time, consult with municipalities

Re: Non-resident property taxes.

Tim Houston’s cancellation of the non-resident property tax on Thursday was the best thing he could have done to restore this province’s reputation and begin to repair some of the damage his illconsidered policy has done.

Hopefully, our seasonal residents will see this as a reason to stay. Perhaps the premier could ensure their assessments are capped so that all property owners enjoy fair and equal treatment across Nova Scotia.

If Premier Houston is looking for a way to address Nova Scotia’s housing crisis, perhaps he could consult the Nova Scotia Housing Commission’s 2021 report, the result of six months hard work by 17 commissioners and 2,000 housing experts and stakeholders. It offers much by way of solutions for our province’s affordable housing crisis, noting that “municipalities are best positioned to understand local housing needs.”

Recommendation No. 3 asserts that provincial legislation and regulations need to be modernized so “municipalities can partner with the private sector to offer a wider range of incentives” as other provinces across Canada have done. Recommendation No. 5 notes that municipalities should be empowered to become key partners in affordable housing but the problem is that they have “limited tools or resources to take effective action,” which points back to recommendation No. 3. Recommendation No. 13 asks our government to forge relationships of “mutual trust and respect with underrepresented communities.”

Municipalities are closer to their communities than the province is; they should be involved as partners in any provincial housing initiatives, including any new property taxation. They also understand how seasonal residents contribute to their resilience. Surtaxing non-resident homeowners, whose properties are mainly in rural areas, would effectively have limited municipalities’ tax base and caused these people to leave our province, further eroding rural economies.

I don’t disagree with a wealth tax. Having a home should be a human right and the fortunate among us should support and contribute to housing. However, property taxation should be left to the municipalities. They understand their communities, including the role seasonal residents play in keeping them resilient. And they will be less likely to bite the hands that feed them.