Farmland property taxes are up this year for many producers in Manitoba.
Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) General Manager James Battershill says some farmers are seeing a tax increase of $20,000 - $30,000, due to a rise in assessed farmland values.
He explains what may be causing the rise in assessed values.
"The last assessment period was 2013/2014. That was a time when we were seeing commodity prices really at historic highs in western Canada. We were seeing land sales reflecting those high commodity prices."
Battershill says commodity prices have since gone down quite dramatically and he expects sales to be at a more historic average level.
He notes one solution would be for the PC government to remove the $5,000 cap on the Farmland School Tax Rebate. KAP is asking the province to introduce a new system for education funding in Manitoba that is not so reliant on property taxes.
Source : Portageonline