Property Tax Backgrounder

REGINA: An analysis of property tax data since 1985 released today by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) shows that property taxes in Saskatchewan are rising much faster than inflation - in some cases more than twice as fast.

"As the years have gone by since 1985, the tax problem has become increasingly severe," said CTF Saskatchewan director David MacLean. "We can't continue to ignore the issue of property taxes in Saskatchewan - especially with the challenges agricultural producers are facing. We're at point where farmers and ranchers can no longer afford to pay their property tax bills."

Property tax facts (real tax increase numbers are adjusted for inflation):

• Municipal property taxes (not including school taxes) increased by 84 per cent since 1985 - a real tax increase of 12 per cent
• Municipal property taxes (including school taxes) increased by 99 per cent since 1985 - a real tax increase of 21 per cent.
• School taxes increased by 111 per cent since 1985 - a real tax increase of 28 per cent (or a province wide increase of $120 million).
• School taxes on agriculture land increased by 31 per cent since 1997 - a real tax increase of 14 per cent.
• Property taxes for Rural Municipalities increased by 27 per cent since 1997 - a real tax increase of 11 percent
• School taxes for Rural Municipalities have increased by 38 per cent since 1997 - a real tax increase of 21 percent.
  
  "This is a taxpayer nightmare," said MacLean. "Property taxes in every category are rising much faster than inflation. The province-wide average annual increase is 5 per cent. And now we're hitting the wall."
  
  "The ultimate irony is that while our property tax bills are soaring, our municipal services are declining," said MacLean. "The final kicker is the fact that the number of people actually left in the province to pick up the tax tab is almost 30,000 fewer that it was in 1985."