King supports call for province to reimburse municipalities for farm tax benefits
By Bill Rea

The Province should establish a separate and distinct funding program to reimburse municipalities for the tax revenue they lose from farm properties.

The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry believe that it should, and King councillors recently voiced their support for that position.

The motion from the United Counties, which councillors voted to receive and support, stated the Farm Tax Rebate Program used to

Have a Safe & be fully funded by the

province.

It added it is not a local public service, but is aimed at providing lower-cost food across the province, as well as economic benefit and income redistribution.

The current system forces rural municipalities to absorb the loss of 75 per cent of the tax revenue on their local farm and managed forest properties, and the resolution pointed out these municipalities are already at a disadvantage because of lack of access to

industrial and commercial

assessment.

Happy Holiday "The lost revenue to the

municipalities is being absorbed by all properties within the individual municipality, increasing local tax rates and resulting in the local community (including farmland and managed forest properties) paying for their own farm tax rebate program," it stated.

The resolution concluded the farmland and managed forest components of the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund should be set up as a separate program.

Kettleby resident Bob Martin suggested it might be time to change the farm property tax assessment system, commenting it appears King loses about $2.7 million from the way things are.