Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy

May 27 2026

N.B. property tax rate formula set to change after reforms

Katherine Del Salto News industrial tax, Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy, property assessments services, property tax overhaul, property taxes

The provincial government’s proposed changes to the property tax system will tie tax rates to municipal costs rather than assessments.

Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy unveiled the province’s plans to overhaul the property tax system at a legislative session.

Kennedy tabled the Act Respecting Property Tax for first reading, a bill that contains several reforms aimed at making incremental changes to the property tax system to make it more predictable and stable in an effort to address spiking property tax bills.

The reforms include the introduction of local and provincial rate stabilizers, which will help governments move away from property taxes based on assessments and toward property taxes based on municipal needs and budget decisions.

“New Brunswickers have told us that they are worried about unpredictable property tax bills, unclear processes for property assessments, and confusion over where the money from property taxes is being spent,” Kennedy said at a press conference.

“These amendments will help create a more stable, predictable and transparent tax system that New Brunswickers can trust, and local governments can rely on.”

To achieve that, the proposed stabilizer will apply the Local Government Cost Index (LGCI), which is currently used to index the fiscal capacity fund and the capital renewal fund and is meant to reflect the realities local governments face, as opposed to just applying the Consumer Price Index.

The LGCI is made up of four equal components: 25 per cent population growth, 25 per cent the Consumer Price Index, 25 per cent the non-residential building cost index and 25 per cent New Brunswick salaries and wages. It is subject to a minimum increase of zero per cent and a maximum of five per cent.

With the stabilizer in place, increases in property assessments do not automatically lead to higher property taxes. The stabilizer reduces the tax rate by the same percentage as the assessment increase to keep revenues stable, and the tax rate is then adjusted according to the LGCI.

For example, if property assessments increase by eight per cent and the LGCI indicates there has been a three per cent increase in costs, the tax rate will first decrease by eight per cent and then increase by three per cent.

The government is also increasing the local non-residential and heavy industry rate multiplier range to compensate for the decrease in the tax rate and balance revenue for local governments.

The multiplier is currently set at 1.4 to 1.7 and will change to a range of one to two.

Municipalities will have to justify rate increases

Starting in 2027, in addition to publishing the tax base increase, the government will publish the stabilizer for each municipality.

According to Kennedy, municipalities are free to decide on a different rate from what is suggested by the stabilizer, but they will be required to explain their decision on property tax bills sent to residents.

“It’s going to be very clear and transparent from the provincial government that this is what your tax rate should be,” he said. “Municipalities are an empowered entity as a local government that they can make the decisions that they deem best for the tax rate in their community, but they are going to have to justify that.”

Kennedy added that the bill will put pressure on municipalities to keep tax bills lower.

Last year, the Liberal government introduced a one-year freeze on assessment values for 2026 due to the significant increase in property tax bills.

With the rate stabilizer in place, Kennedy said it might be a “tough sale” for municipalities to increase the tax rate beyond what it suggests, as he believes people will be looking forward to the changes.

Other reforms include redesigning the property tax bill to use plain language and clearly show who is collecting the tax, where the money is going, what it is being used for and how it differs from the previous year.

It will also provide a breakdown of budget amounts by category for the current and previous year — such as public safety and road maintenance — and include reasons for any changes.

Government still working on industry revenue grant

The government is also extending the appeal period to give property owners 30 days to appeal the results of a property assessment review, an eight-day increase from the previous appeal period.

The proposed reform also includes the potential for a new heavy industry revenue transfer grant, which aims to improve fairness by ensuring communities with heavy industries receive more direct financial support to help cover the additional cost of servicing these properties.

However, officials said more work is needed to determine how the grant will be implemented. Currently, the government has collected $24 million for the grant, but it will establish the regulations in 2027.

The province first launched an effort to overhaul New Brunswick’s tax system last year and said it consulted the business community, local governments and advocacy groups throughout the process.

May 26 2026

N.B. releases property tax review, is not considering independent assessment body

Katherine Del Salto News Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy, New Brunswick, overhaul of property tax system, property assessments services, Property tax assessment

New Brunswick will prioritize other recommendations to separate property assessment from taxation, despite a report’s main suggestion.

Last week, the government released a review of New Brunswick’s property assessment services as part of its promise to overhaul the province’s property tax system.

The report — completed by the International Property Tax Institute (IPTI), a non-profit organization that supports stakeholders in developing and maintaining effective property tax systems — found that while New Brunswick’s property assessment methods align with international best practices, the way property taxes are handled is confusing.

The review evaluated three main areas: the methodology used to assess properties, the laws and regulations governing property assessment, and the design of current practices.

IPTI’s approach also included jurisdictional scans, a review of standards and reports, and consultation with stakeholder groups, including taxpayers, tax agents, local and provincial governments, and various associations.

According to stakeholders interviewed by the institute, many of the system’s challenges stem from the fact that both the province and municipalities charge property taxes.

The report also noted that the lack of a clear distinction between property assessment and property taxation contributes to confusion, which the review says is why the public perceives the system as lacking transparency.

“This ‘blurring’ leads to problems of accountability and responsibility which, in IPTI’s view, is the fundamental problem the government needs to address,” said the report.

Other issues identified included the local impact of a centralized system on municipalities. In New Brunswick, the provincial government handles both assessment and tax collection across the province.

The report said that while this ensures consistency in property assessment, it disconnects local governments from the direct impact of their budget and tax-rate decisions on taxpayers.

To make the system less confusing and address issues of accountability and responsibility, the report recommended turning the province’s property assessment services into a separate organization.

It also suggested property assessments services no longer deal with property tax matters unrelated to assessment, that it be independently responsible for its operational activities, and that it be funded through charges paid by both local and provincial governments.

By separating property assessment services from the province, the review said property assessment services would be seen as independent from other parts of the provincial government, which the report called “an important safeguard in any property tax system.”

Local Government minister doesn’t believe an independent assessment body is necessary

However, Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy said the province is prioritizing other steps to separate assessment from taxation.

Kennedy, who is also the minister responsible for Service New Brunswick, said adding another layer of “bureaucracy” would not mean much for New Brunswickers.

“What they want to see is a stable, predictable, transparent, and fair property tax system, so they don’t have to choke when they see a huge increase in their assessment in January,” he said.

Kennedy said the report is a precursor to what is coming this week, when the government introduces a new bill at the legislature on Wednesday.

He said the government believes a substantial property assessment increase should not mean a significant rise in property taxes.

“If your house goes up by $50,000 in its assessment this year, that numbers has absolutely no impact on the services that are required at your house [and] there is no correlation between that and how much you pay for fire protection or police protection,” he explained.

The report included 39 recommendations focused on organizational structure, communications and stakeholder engagement, and other operational enhancements.

It also included 18 endorsements for activities already underway, including a new computer-assisted mass appraisal system, and 11 suggestions that were outside the scope of the review.

Of the 39 recommendations, Kennedy said the government is prioritizing 26 — based on the objectives of the overhaul and Service New Brunswick. As of May 2026, three were completed or near completion, five were in progress, and the remainder — including multi-year projects — are planned to be completed between 2028 and 2029.

Kennedy declined to provide more details on how the province will achieve this separation, or specifics on which recommendations the government is considering, before introducing the next steps at the legislature.

However, he said the government has been working on reinspections, aiming to reinspect about 46,000 properties this year.

The government has also extended the appeal period for property tax assessments from 21 days to 30 days and expanded its online presence to provide people with more educational resources on their tax bills and assessments, he said.

“At its core, what we are going to be coming forward with the next weeks is that if your assessment goes up, the municipal tax rate should come down to ensure [municipalities] get the money that they need at a reasonable rate,” he added.

The report also suggested the province consider relaxing existing limits on local governments in relation to their tax-rate-setting powers.

Local governments set residential property tax rates, but once established, those rates also apply to other property types — such as industrial properties — within a provincially prescribed range, which is between 1.4 and to 1.7 times of the residential property tax rate.

As cities like Saint John have been advocating for greater flexibility in municipal property taxation, Kennedy said the government will address expanding municipalities’ tax-rate-setting powers during the announcement.