Municipalities such as cities, towns and rural municipalities provide local government for their area and also are responsible for providing many local services, such as garbage collection, public transit and road repairs.
Municipal governments receive some funding from both the provincial and federal governments, but a large part of their revenue comes from property taxes.
Property taxes are based on the appraised value of the property in question. A mill rate is then applied to that value to determine the amount of tax owing. The mill rate is the dollar amount of tax that must be paid for every $1000 value of property owned. For example, if the mill rate is 20 this means property owners must pay $20 for every $1000 of property they own.
Municipalities set their own mill rates based on the revenue they need to operate. Different types of property such as residential, commercial and industrial can be subject to different levels of taxation.
PLEA can provide you with information to help you understand many legal matters you, a family member or friend may be facing.