A recent study comparing financial indicators from a cross section of Ontario municipalities shows Cambridge homeowners are paying among the highest property taxes in the region as a percentage of household income.
Cambridge residents fork over 3.86 per cent of their household income on property taxes compared to 3.78 per cent in Kitchener and 3.61 per cent in Waterloo.
Guelph is higher at 4.15 per cent with the City of Hamilton topping the list at 4.61 per cent of household income spent on property taxes.
According to BMA Financial Consulting Inc., the company tasked by the City of Cambridge and many other Ontario municipalities with providing an annual overview of the city’s financial position, the tax burden on homeowners in Cambridge is 4.99 per cent of household income.
The city's portion of the property tax bill is around one third of the overall tax bill, which includes the Region of Waterloo and education taxes.
Using the example of taxes paid for a detached bungalow, the BMA study shows Cambridge in the mid-range for 2021 property taxes at $3,717.
Guelph ranks in the high range for taxes paid for the same property at $3,933, while a Waterloo bungalow owner paid $3,543 in taxes in 2021.
The city’s deputy treasurer Katie Fischer told councillors this week that Cambridge is on par or slightly higher than other municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe in terms of taxes paid as a percentage of household income, but warned that ratio could rise if the city continues to waive development charges in the city’s three core areas.
Taxpayers are on the hook to cover the loss of those DCs, which since 2015 amounts to about $24.5 million and has added to tax increases every year.
“People may not want to move to Cambridge and live in these new developments if taxes in the community are higher than neighbouring communities,” she said.
The city is considering ending its DC exemption in the core areas as early as April 5.
The latest municipal report from BMA Financial Consulting Inc. shows household income in Cambridge rose to an average of $103,100 in 2021.
That number sits in the middle of all Ontario municipalities with Cornwall on the low end at $67,060 and the Township of King, north of Toronto, on the high end with an average household income of $200,081.
The average 2021 household incomes in the neighbouring municipalities of Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph were $96,368, $119,241, and $106,677 respectively.
