Halifax Regional Council approves deferral of property taxes until June

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The property tax due date has been pushed until at least June 1 for HRM residents.

At a virtual council meeting on April 14, Halifax Regional Council voted unanimously to implement financial relief measures to help alleviate the effects of COVID-19.

“We realize that with COVID-19, really this has created an economic insecurity for many of the residents and businesses of HRM,” said Deputy Mayor Lisa Blackburn, who put the motion on the floor.

The motion included deferring the property tax due date until June 1, as well as lowering the arrears fees for overdue accounts from 15 per cent to 10 per cent, and eliminating non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees which were $40 each.

“Relief is going to have to come in a number of phases and from a number of sources. So this is meant really to be our short term plan,” said Blackburn.

Municipal staff made a presentation about the financial impacts of the tax deferral. Halifax CFO Jane Fraser told council that the city projected a loss of $223 million from COVID-19, with $188 million of that coming from tax deferral.

“Municipalities are obviously reviewing budget and service levels as well as reserve balances. The concern is that if it goes too long that all the cash reserves will be depleted,” Fraser said.

Many councillors said this is not the only help they hope to provide, but that it was the first step.

“Certainly a provincial solution would be better than a patchwork quilt of municipalities coming up with their own solutions,” said Blackburn.

Councillor Shawn Cleary said more help may come from the provincial government, which has the jurisdiction to give out grants, something the municipality cannot do.