Unpaid property taxes in the Town of The Blue Mountains edged up slightly in 2023.
At its committee of the whole meeting on April 29, council received the annual tax arrears report that details the amount of taxation owed to the town that hasn’t been paid.
At the end of 2023, total tax arrears in The Blue Mountains was $2,602,297 on a total tax levy of $47,945,947. The arrears represents 5.43 per cent of the tax levy.
The totals include amounts owed to Grey County and local school boards. The town collects all property taxes and remits the full amounts owed to the county and school boards regardless of whether or not a property owner has paid.
The town charges 1.25 per cent interest per month of overdue taxes.
“We are up slightly,” said Amy Moore, the town’s manager of revenue, who added that, based on the town’s most recent five years, 2023 was at the lower end for the percentage of arrears. “We’re doing well.”
Based on provincial standards, arrears that are less than 10 per cent of the levy are seen as "low-risk."
Over the past five years, the town’s arrears have ranged from a light of 7.86 per cent in 2019 to a low of 5.02 per cent in 2022.
Under provincial rules, properties that are in arrears for three years are eligible for the tax registration and sale process. This is an extensive process through which the town registers a property to be sold to recover the outstanding amount owed. The process takes approximately one year to complete.
Moore said the town currently has three properties in the tax sale process.
