Salmon Arm assessments: how you compare

The table on this page may be enough to let you figure out if you'll fare well or be hammered by the change to property assessment practices this year.

Homeowners from outside the Lower Mainland and business owners should consult The Sun's interactive web page (www.vancouversun.com/news/propertyassessment.html). It lists averages for both business and residences in most B.C. communities, and it includes a calculator to help you figure out the percentage of change on your property.

However, if you know this number and if you have a residential property in the Lower Mainland, all you have to do is check the chart on this page and compare your percentage to the average for your community.

If the two figures are nearly the same, the new policy will have no impact on you. Your tax bill will be close to what it would have been without the new rules. (This doesn't mean it will be the same as last year -- that depends on whether your council increases or controls its spending. And it's a safe bet they'll increase it.)

If the change in your property's value was less than average, you'll pay more than you would have. And if your change was more than average, you'll get a break. In both these cases, the wider the gap the greater the impact.

SHOULD YOU APPEAL YOUR PROPERTY ASSESSMENT IN LIGHT OF THIS YEAR'S 'FREEZE'?

In a normal year, homeowners whose property went up in value faster than others in their city would end up with a bigger-than-average increase in their municipal tax bill. But this year the B.C. government decided to allow property owners to use the lower of the last two year's assessments as the basis for their 2009 property tax bills.

That means -- for this year only -- homeowners whose property values went up faster than average are actually better off than those with more modest increases. To find out whether you're better or worse off under the assessment changes -- and to help you decide whether or not you should appeal -- follow these two easy steps.

STEP 1

Calculate the percentage increase or decrease for your own property assessment between July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2008, using the assessment notices you received from BC Assessment. To calculate the increase/decrease, subtract your July 1, 2007 property assessment from your July 1, 2008 assessment. Then divide that number by your July 1, 2007 assessment and multiply that number by 100. For example, if your 2007 assessment was $500,000 and your 2008 assessment was $550,000, the math would work like this:

$550,000 - $500,000 = $50,000

$50,000 / $500,000 = 0.10 x 100 = 10%

STEP 2

Look up your municipality in the accompanying chart to see what the average property-value increase was in your community. If the increase in your assessment is greater than the average, you're better off than most. However, if your increase is smaller than average, you are worse off as a result of the policy change. If the value of your property actually went down between 2007 and 2008, you are particularly worse off. You have until Feb. 2 to file an appeal to BC Assessment, which you can do online or by going to your local assessment office.


AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL ASSESSMENT

MUNICIPALITY / CHANGE (2007 TO 2008)

Salmon Arm 7.9%
Salmon Arm rural 8%
Sicamous 7.8%



Abbotsford* 3.3%
Bowen Island 2.7%
Burnaby 6.3%
Chilliwack 2.9%
Coquitlam 4.5%
Delta 4.7%
Langley City 4.1%
Langley Township 2.3%
Maple Ridge 3.9%
Mission 3.6%
New Westminster 5.3%
North Vancouver City 6.2%
North Vancouver District 6.0%
Pitt Meadows 3.0%
Port Coquitlam 5.2%
Port Moody 2.8%
Richmond 8.4%
Squamish 10.3%
Surrey 1.6%
Vancouver 6.2%
West Vancouver 5.3%
Whistler 8.0%
White Rock 1.4%

* Abbotsford is broken into two separate assessment areas. This figure is an average of those two numbers.

(Source: BC Assessment, Vancouver Sun/Don Cayo)