; "'People are furious': Deed transfer tax debate rages on in Kings County")
Kings County, N.S., resident Michael Cole was at a celebration of life recently when an unusual topic came up between a dozen of the attendees.
While gathered outside the service, conversation turned to a subject that’s been attracting spirited debate for some time: a proposed deed transfer tax for the county that council is set to decide on next week.
“People are furious,” said Cole, who lives in Weltons Corner.
The Municipality of the County of Kings will have a second reading at Monday’s council meeting on whether to implement the 1.5 per cent deed transfer tax. The county is the only Nova Scotia municipality that does not have such a tax.
Cole is against the tax for several reasons, including that it makes purchasing property more unaffordable at a time when people are struggling to make ends meet.
“Kids can’t afford that,” he said in an interview. “We don’t have enough housing as it is.”
Parts of Kings County do have a deed transfer tax
The proposed tax would apply to the parts of Kings County not already covered by a deed transfer tax. The towns of Berwick, Kentville and Wolfville all have deed transfer taxes.
Coun. Bob Best has served on Kings County council for nine years, although not continuously. He said this is the issue he’s received the most calls about from constituents in his political career.
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After the meeting where the first reading was carried out earlier this month, with the vote being 6-4 in favour, Best said he received around two dozen phone calls from people, with only one person speaking for it.
“I think we are taxed to death enough here,” said Best, who voted against the deed transfer tax. “I find that we are in the toughest times that I have ever seen with young people trying to get houses and trying to make it out there that another tax is not in my favour.”
Tax ‘the lesser of two evils,’ says mayor
The idea of a deed transfer tax in Kings County predates last fall’s municipal election. Mayor Dave Corkum, who was elected mayor last October, campaigned against the tax. He said passing the tax is “the lesser of two evils,” with the alternative being to raise property and sewer taxes.
Corkum said he’s changed his opinion for a couple of reasons, including the closure of the pool at Acadia University and learning that the municipality’s financial reserves are about 50 per cent of what they should be.
“I’m a little bit embarrassed about it, but at the other end of the coin, I have to do what I believe is best for Kings County and even if sometimes it maybe makes Dave Corkum look a little bit bad,” said Corkum.
What the tax would help pay for
The deed transfer tax would be used, in part, to help finance a new regional recreation facility that would include a pool.
“If that doesn’t go through, the wellness centre will probably not go through,” said Corkum.
Other levels of government would also help pay for the facility, as well as private donations. Corkum estimated the total cost to be around $75 million.
But it’s not just the proposed pool putting financial pressure on the county. Corkum said there are costly infrastructure projects that will cost millions, such as sewer upgrades in New Minas and Hants Border, as well as water and sewer upgrades in Kingston and Greenwood.
“The money’s got to come from somewhere and it’s not easy to come up with those kind of dollars just at one fell swoop,” said Corkum.
Financial savings
Information posted by the county says that if the deed transfer tax was used for wastewater upgrades and the regional recreational facility, it would save the municipality $10 million in borrowing interest.
It said without a deed transfer tax, property taxes would have to increase by two per cent annually, while sewer fees would have to go up $51.
“The whole thing, it is quite complicated,” said Corkum. “And once you explain to a majority of the people, unless they’re a special interest group … they, I think, will mostly understand.”
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