Crowsnest Pass Municipal Council gave first reading to a bylaw which will provide for an increased penalty on unpaid property taxes, during the November 29th regular Council meeting.
Under Bylaw 836, otherwise known as the Property Tax Penalties Bylaw, the penalty for unpaid property taxes will be increased from the current 21 per cent of the total amount owing to approximately 50 per cent.
Director of Finance and Systems Marion Vanoni said discussions on the bylaw began in October, when Administration began looking for a way to rectify the issue of outstanding property taxes.
At present, a total of $1,044,759 in outstanding property taxes is owed by several residential and commercial property owners, a balance which has been carried forward since 2009.
“We are basically carrying their debt load for them,” said Vanoni.
Under the new bylaw, these residents will have the new penalty structure applied to their tax arrears starting in 2012.
An average property tax of $2,500 due on December 31st, 2011 will have penalties of approximately $1,443 applied in 2012.
If the total $3,943 remains as outstanding throughout 2012, it will continue to accumulate penalties in the following year of an additional $2,684.53, bringing the total amount owing to $6443.81.
