Georgina candidate promises property tax break for qualifying senior citizens
'It's an affordable goal,' says reverend running in Pefferlaw ward

Georgina Advocate
January 23, 2014
By Heidi Riedner

Reducing the property tax burden on senior citizens with modest incomes is one election campaign promise being made by Ward 5 candidate Rev. Jim Keenan.

If elected to Georgina council this October, Mr. Keenan said he will do what it takes to get a $300 municipal tax credit for homeowners 65 years of age and older.

“If we can go into debt to pay for new residents to move here to enjoy our wonderful way of life, there is no question we can invest a very few dollars to help out our senior residents with modest incomes,” he told Club 55 members at the Pefferlaw Lions Club Hall earlier this week.

“These are the people who have worked and raised families and volunteered over the years to make our community what it is today,” he said, adding steady tax increases are making it harder for many seniors to make ends meet.

Rev. Keenan is also proposing tax deferrals and relief for low-income seniors aged 55 to 64 whose household income is $23,000 or less if single or $40,000 or less per family.

Deferring annual increases in property taxes until an owner sold the property is also being proposed under his plan designed to help keep seniors living in their own homes longer.

“We must reduce this burden on these valuable members of our community. It’s the right thing to do and it is affordable,” Rev. Keenan said, adding other municipalities in York Region implemented similar programs years ago.

Under the proposed plan, you may be eligible for the tax credit if you have owned a property for at least one year, are a resident of Georgina and receive a monthly guaranteed income supplement.

Seniors aged 65 years and older would be eligible to defer payment of the full amount of an increase in taxes for 2015 over the total taxes for 2014.

Partial deferrals would be available for low-income seniors 55 to 64 whose household income is $23,000 or less if single or $40,000 or less per family and who receive a property tax increase of more than $300 per year.

The cost of this is affordable, Rev. Keenan said.

You can contact Mr. Keenan at 905-751-5335 or revkeenan@gmail.com.