The CEO of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce echoes what the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association is advocating for, in a report on property taxes for businesses, saying they have been proposing these changes to the system for many years.

Jason Aebig explains that the three recommendations to provincial and municipal officials include a shorter property assessment cycle rather than the current four years, getting rid of the tiered classification system for different property types to make it more equitable, and simplifying the property tax system, while making it more transparent. Aebig adds that when the business properties are assessed every four years there can be wild swings in valuation and therefore the taxes. He understands that for rural areas, every four years may be easier but says for larger centres, a two-year cycle would be better and cities like Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert and Saskatoon have their own municipal assessment offices.

Aebig notes that Saskatchewan and Ontario are the only two provinces on a four-year assessment cycle. Manitoba is on a two-year cycle and in Alberta, assessments are done annually. The Greater Saskatoon Chamber’s CEO believes lowering the assessment cycle would make the province more inviting for businesses considering moving here. The Chamber has created a task force of property tax assessment experts and property owners to look over the report presented by SUMA and the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency and will present their findings before the end of October to the City of Saskatoon, SUMA and the province.