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Originally Posted by OliverD
Regardless of the cap, we often hear fear mongering about property taxes forcing seniors out of their homes but I've yet to see much evidence of this actually happening. While I'm sure there may be some isolated incidents it isn't reasonable to presume that seniors en masse have an affordability crisis that differs from that of the working class especially when the average Canadian man aged 25-34 makes less than the average man over 65 ( source).
While I don't think we should explicitly incentivize seniors to leave their homes we also should not incentivize (subsidize) them to stay via property tax breaks. If people want to stay in their family homes well past retirement that is fine but it isn't as common as it once was to own only a single home in one's lifetime, and I think people are more amenable to downsizing as they age. I've seen several examples of this in my own life recently. I think this is why it's important we build a healthy mix of housing options with both rental and ownership opportunities – give seniors downsizing options that are aspirational and desirable. |
I don't understand why you are characterizing the cap system as though it only applies to seniors, though. I just did a quick search, as I mentioned in my post above that I must not understand how it works, and I didn't. If a person buys a house, they are taxed at uncapped value... for
one year. After that, they are taxed at capped value for subsequent years. So unless the 25-34 year old in your example above buys a different house every year, then they are taxed the same as
anybody who has owned their home for more than a year. I also don't see any language that mentions the age of the purchaser/homeowner.
I'm finding some of the takes here a little confusing, TBH.
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CAP Eligibility
CAP eligibility requirements are set by the Nova Scotia Assessment Act and cannot be amended by PVSC. Eligible properties are:
At least 50% owned by a Nova Scotia resident.
Residential property with less than four dwelling units or vacant resource property. For the CAP, residential properties include manufactured homes, manufactured home parks, cooperative housing, and the residential or resource portions of a commercial farm.
Occupied by the owner, if the property is a condominium.
Owned for at least a year, or ownership remained within the family.
The CAP is removed for the year following the sale of a property, unless it was purchased from a family member (spouse, child, grandchild, great grandchild, parent, grandparent or sibling). If eligibility criteria are met, the calculation of the new owner’s CAP will begin the next year.
For example: if a property was purchased in June of 2023 by a non-family member, the taxable assessed value of the property would be calculated without CAP in January of 2024. As a result, the new owner's taxable assessment could be higher than the previous owner's. In January of 2025, the new owner's assessment would be calculated with CAP, if all other eligibility criteria were met.
Commercial properties, new construction, non-owner-occupied condominiums, properties that have been purchased from a non-family member within the last year, and properties that are majority owned by out-of-province residents are not eligible for the CAP.
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