Municipal Property Assessment Corporation met with Quinte West council
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
According to the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), the value of Class 1 farmland in Ontario has jumped from $3,425 per acre in 2012 to about $7,825 per acre in 2016.
Quinte News reports that Catherine Barr, MPAC account manager for Hastings, Northumberland and Prince Edward County, met with Quinte West council. She cited low interest rates, buyers relocating to other parts of Ontario, and supply unable to meet demand need as reasons for increased assessments.
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And while some farmers may be worried that an increase in farmland values means a tax increase, Quinte West Mayor Jim Harrison said that’s not a definite conclusion.
“They’re getting hit hard as far as assessment is concerned, but not as far as taxes,” he told Quinte News. “And the assessment is based on what properties sold for, farmer to farmer.”
But Mayor Harrison also warned that if farmland taxes aren’t increased, other taxes could be upped to offset costs.
“But you have to remember all taxes are a circle. You take from one you have to get from somebody else. So if we reduce the farm tax rate then we will have to increase someone else’s rate. Council will have to look at the figures and all the assessments and come up with something that is relative to our needs.”
Everyone who receives a property assessment has 120 days to appeal their notice, which for farmers is around February 8, 2017.
The OFA also has tips on how to properly read the MPAC assessments.