Industrial plants, commercial buildings big winners as N.B. property tax bills go out

More than 400,000 property tax bills for 2022 are being mailed out across New Brunswick beginning Friday and while many homeowners will see increases from last year in what they are charged, the province's largest commercial and industrial properties will mostly be getting reductions.

In some cases reductions are in excess of $100,000.

"One word: egregious," said Saint John city councillor Brent Harris, who has been calling for an acceleration of promised changes to provincial property tax rules that are contributing to the billing disparity. 

"What I'd say to our residents is now is the time to pay attention."

On Saint John's Driftwood Lane, all 35 townhouses will be receiving tax increases of between $200 and $500 over last year when bills from Service New Brunswick begin arriving this week and next.

That's because Saint John's heated housing market caused assessment increases of 16 per cent and above on the townhouses.  That was substantially more than a tax rate reduction of 4.2 per cent the city adopted in its municipal budget.  

Business properties in the city also received that 4.2 per cent tax rate cut even though they did not have similar increases in their assessments.  

Then last week the province announced its own tax rate cut on business properties, doubling their discounts. 

In Saint John the municipal and provincial property tax cuts plus a minimal assessment increase at NB Power's Coleson Cove generating station will combine to lower its tax bill this year by $163,000.

Also paying less will be Irving Oil Ltd.'s refinery ($154,000) and its King Square headquarters building ($126,000).   

JD Irving Ltd will pay fewer property taxes on its east side paper mill ($51,000) and wallboard plant ($15,000) while industrial infrastructure in the city will also be charged less, including the natural gas pipeline that serves the LNG terminal ($57,000).

And it is not just in Saint John.

In Moncton, property taxes are going down on major retailers like Costco on Granite Drive ($26,000) and on office buildings like the privately owned Moncton Law Courts ($165,000).  Meanwhile homeowners on streets like Candice Lane face $400 tax increases and above.

In Dieppe, those owning homes on Doreen Crescent will see tax bills rising $200 and more while nearby the Majesta tissue plant and related warehouse, offices and truck yards are charged a combined $150,000 less than last year.