Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have a return to an oral question asked by Mr. Roland on May 6th with respect to the education tax increases.
Education tax rates in tax-based municipalities and education and property tax rates in the general taxation area are set annually by the Minister of Finance by the issuance of an establishment order under the Property Assessment and Taxation Act. The establishment order implementing the increase for 1996 has been signed. In the past, no prior notice would normally have been given until this was done.
In recognition of the open nature of doing business in this government, it is my intention to keep Members advised of the initiatives of this nature. However, in this case, the Member is correct that MLAs were not informed of the increase and I apologize for this oversight.
On the subject of the revenue gain from the increase in the education and property tax, it is estimated to be $575,000 in 1996-97. Of this amount, $160,000 is expected to be collected from the education tax in tax-based municipalities, and $415,000 from education and property tax in the general taxation area.
The impact of the tax increase depends on the level of assessment on each property. For tax-based communities, average assessments range from approximately $40,000 in Fort Simpson to $90,000 in Inuvik. The average rise in education tax would therefore be from $306 to $336 in Inuvik and from $172 to $190 in Fort Simpson, increases of $30 and $18 per year respectively.
In the general taxation area, the increases are similar. In Cape Dorset, for example, where the average assessment of a single-family income is $43,000, property and education taxes would rise from $287 to $316, an increase of $29 per year. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.