York Region's 2.87% tax increase means $66 for average household

YorkRegion.com
Dec. 19, 2016
By Lisa Queen  

The regional portion of the property tax bill is going up by an average of $66 next year.

York councillors passed the region’s budget on Dec. 15, boosting taxes by 2.87 per cent.

That is slightly more than the 2.69 per cent increase they had predicted a year ago.

The $66 increase is based on a house with an assessed value of $577,000.

But the tax hike will be different in each municipality because property values vary across the region.

The lowest increase will be in Georgina, where the average increase will be $35.

The biggest hike will be in King, where the average increase will be $78.

The average increase in East Gwillimbury will be $53, compared to $51 in Newmarket, $62 in Aurora and Whitchurch-Stouffville, $67 in Markham, and $72 in Richmond Hill and Vaughan.

The regional portion of the tax bill is expected to increase by 2.65 per cent in 2018.

The region’s debt will peak at $2.9 billion next year, before beginning to drop the following year.

York’s $2.8-billion budget is the third-largest municipal budget in Ontario, after Toronto at $14.9 billion, and Ottawa at $3.7 billion.

Peel Region’s budget is $2.6 billion, Durham Region’s is $1.5 billion, and Halton Region’s is $1.2 billion.