It is the Town Administration's mandate to provide quality of life to the residents of Bruderheim. People often ask what this means and "what do we get for our taxes"? It is good for residents to understand that not a day goes by without receiving value for your tax dollars. A comprehensive list is found below, but here are a few examples:
Every day you:
These are just a few examples of your tax dollars at work for you every day in Bruderheim!
The Budget process develops the cost of all services provided to the residents of Bruderheim. Your Town Council reviews all services and directs administration as to the levels of service that are adequate to ensure that residents are well served.
The costs of the services residents want and enjoy determine the taxes required!
The total tax dollars required are then divided by the total property values in Bruderheim to determine the 'tax rate'. This rate is applied to all assessed values to determine taxes payable. The main increase in taxes is typically due to inflation on the services provided. Alberta municipalities have seen double digit inflation over the last 5 years, making it challenging to provide services at a low cost.
Assessed Value x Tax Rate = Taxes Payable
Assessment (market value) of your home determines taxes payable. Your taxes payable is dependent on how your home compares to the 'average' home in Bruderheim (e.g., $300,000). If your house value is higher than the average, you pay more tax. If the value is less than the average, you pay less tax.
One misconception about taxes is the belief that when a home's market value goes down, taxes will go down. They do not for 2 reasons:
The 'comparison to average' calculation method ensures that taxes stay consistent and reasonable each year and maintains fairness among taxpayers.
There are two dates used by the assessor throughout the assessment process:
Only a portion of your tax bill goes to the municipality (approximately 74%). There are three tax rates on your tax bill:
Residents are taxed by three different levels of government - Federal, Provincial and Municipal. While Federal and Provincial governments have many sources of taxation, such as Income Tax, GST, Oil Royalties, and Liquor and Tobacco Taxes, municipalities have only property taxes to generate revenue. Only 5% of all government-generated taxes go to municipalities, yet municipalities provide the most direct services to residents everyday! Road maintenance, snow clearing, grass cutting, and fire services are a few of the key services provided.
Approximate Taxes Paid Per Household:
Federal 65%
Provincial 35%
Municipal 5%
Municipalities get the least amount of the tax revenue pie, yet they provide the services that are used by people every day!
Under the Municipal Government Act, municipalities are required to levy a penalty for late tax payments. Ours is 18%, which is typical for municipalities. Many of the services provided by Bruderheim are legislated by the Province, meaning that we have no choice but to provide the services. If tax revenues are not received in a timely fashion, our municipality's ability to pay for essential services, such as fire response and snow clearing, is at risk.
Over 90% of Bruderheim residents have historically paid their taxes on time. Unfortunately, those residents' tax dollars go towards subsidizing the 10% of the taxes that are unpaid. Thus, a high penalty is levied to ensure prompt payment and lower the burden on residents who have paid on time. This also ensures that the municipality will have the financial resources - on time - to provide the services required and enjoyed by residents.
The Town actively works towards collecting unpaid taxes. Unfortunately, a municipality must levy high penalties or risk the investment in services by the vast majority of residents, and ultimately, the Town's financial sustainability.
You can join TIPP if:
Your current tax levy will be divided by 12 to establish your monthly payments for January 1 to May 1.
I/We acknowledge there may be a difference between the amount paid by instalments and the actual tax levy and that adjustment may be necessary. The monthly instalment amount for the period of January 1st until the date of the Tax Notice being mailed is calculated by dividing the previous year’s tax levy by the remaining months in the calendar year. The monthly instalment amount after the Tax Notice has been mailed will be calculated by the actual current year’s tax levy, subtracting the prior monthly instalments that have been received to date (if any), and dividing by the remaining months in the calendar year. Your monthly payment will be adjusted June 1 to compensate for changes in taxes resulting from the annual tax levy. Your annual tax bill, usually issued in May, will show the total amount of instalments to date and the calculation of the instalment payments for the remaining payments in that year.
Payments begin January 1 of the new year and continue each consecutive month.
Payments may only be made by automatic withdrawal from an account with chequing privileges at a financial institution. All debits are processed for the first banking day of each month. You must give written permission before the withdrawals will begin. The Town of Bruderheim does not charge for this service; however bank service charges may apply.
Complete and sign the application form found on our Forms Page and send it along with a sample cheque marked “VOID”.
By mail to:
Town of Bruderheim
Box 280
Bruderheim AB T0B 0S0
By fax to: 780-796-3037
By email to: sharron.sinclair@bruderheim.ca