Residents in Nova Scotia wildfire zones are calling on the province to table legislation to cap tax assessments on homes that were destroyed by natural disasters — more particularly, May’s historic wildfires.
Homeowners in the Highland Park area, near the city limits, estimate that after 10 years of taxes, residents would pay almost double the tax of non-destroyed homes due to a rise in property value and construction materials.
Letters penned to the housing minister, the premier and local MLAs pleaded with the province to bring in the legislation retroactively to the end of May to allow wildfire victims to be exempt from the increased tax.
“Over 10 years, they’re going to pay twice as much in taxes. More like $80,000 versus 40,000 for us,” said Krista Hilchey with the Highland Park Rate Payers Association.
“We’re worried they’re not going to be able to afford it when they come back.”
Hilchey considers herself lucky after her home sustained relatively minor damage and nearby trees were lost. However, she’s been hearing from more residents who are voicing concerns over the increased assessment.
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Opposition Liberals tabled a bill that would keep homeowners near the cap they originally paid before the wildfires until they moved.
When asked, provincial housing minister John Lohr pointed towards the benefits of the Property Valuation Services Corporation’s (PVSC) 15 -per cent break to natural disaster homeowners.
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“Those homeowners also have a house that’s rebuilt with a new value. We understand this is a challenge, but this is a policy that has been in place for some time,” he said in an interview with Global News on Tuesday.
Global News asked if 15 per cent is enough for homeowners, to which Lohr said that PVSC is a municipal purview and that they respect their tax rates.
The municipality declined to comment, saying the issue falls under PVSC, who wrote Global News in a statement:
“In regard to properties damaged or destroyed by the 2023 wildfires, consistent with past interpretation of the legislation when a property has been destroyed by natural disaster, PVSC is administering CAP to preserves the overall percentage differential between the assessed value before its destruction and the capped assessment,” wrote Sarah Morris, senior communications adviser with PVSC.
Liberal Hammonds Plains-Lucasville MLA Ben Jessome said that the housing minister, who doubles as minister of municipal affairs, housing and emergency management, needs to intervene to allow homeowners to obtain their previous rate.
He called it “pretty sad” that the province is taxing those impacted by the wildfires.
Jessome is expected to present a petition with hundreds of signatures on Wednesday afternoon.
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