The Claim vs. The Facts
The Claim
"People in Prince George pay higher property taxes than in other communities in BC. A home owner in Prince George will pay higher taxes than a resident of a different municipality who owns a house of the same value."
The Facts
The size, location, and type of home that can be purchased in Prince George is quite different from what that same amount of money can buy in Kamloops, Kelowna, and Nanaimo. Consequently, the best way to compare property tax rates in Prince George to those in other cities is to first find out what the average home price is in each community and then compare taxes on those homes.
For example, if you were to physically take a $500,000 home in Prince George and set it down in Kelowna, the value of that home would likely be reassessed immediately to $1,000,000. However, the 2021 residential tax rate in Kelowna is exactly half that of Prince George. As a result, this home would pay the exact same amount of tax in either city using the assessed values in this example.
The reverse is true as well. In 2020, the cheapest houses were in Cache Creek where they averaged $150,000. Property owners still paid $2,061 in taxes, which is comparable to the provincial average.
Bottom line: The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value is just as important as the individual property value. Comparing tax rates between cities is not a fair comparison without consideration of the average home price.