Fix the Broken Property Tax System

In order to protect Nova Scotians and incentivize new housing being built, a Nova Scotia Liberal government will work with experts to launch a full review of the property tax system to:

Lower property taxes, especially in highly-taxed areas like the CBRM,
Ensure our property tax system incentivizes housing being built, which currently isn’t always the case. Currently, if you add more housing to your property whether by building or renovating, your assessment goes up and so do your taxes. For the next five years we’ll reduce or eliminate tax increases on properties that build more housing. This will incentivize more housing where it’s needed in Nova Scotia, and help bring down housing prices.
Remove arbitrary and unfair penalties from our property tax system, like the drastic increase in taxes Hammonds Plains residents experienced after they lost their houses to wildfires,
Increase taxes on large vacant lots in our urban areas so that it is not profitable for developers to hold onto large, empty lots that are zoned for housing without building, and
Eliminate the residential deed transfer tax (except for the 5% provincial out-of-province tax) to help downsizing seniors, growing families, and those looking to buy their first home by lowering costs and easing bottlenecks in the housing market.

Cost estimate: No additional spending required.

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