Owen Sound Has the
Highest Taxes in Grey and Bruce Counties
| Owen Sound Taxes increased at more than twice the rate of inflation between 2011 and 2020 and are increasing on average by $915,000 per year. The City’s revenue from taxes was $22 million in 2011 and will be $38 million by 2028. Our city ranked 103 out of 108 Ontario municipalities for high taxes. Four of the municipalities that had higher taxes were all in Northern Ontario where they face unique challenges. The Impact of successive years of large tax increases is that Owen Sound is slowly dying. Our high taxes are driving the population to adjacent municipalities and there is some evidence that a few businesses have migrated to Georgian Bluffs as well - McDonald's Flower Cart for example. Over a 20 year period the population of Meaford grew by 10.63%, with a growth rate of 45 residents per year, Georgian Bluffs grew by 9.61%, with a growth rate of 38.38 residents per year, while Owen Sound grew at only 0.68%, with a declining growth rated of -2.36 residents lost each year. At this rate there will be a time in the future when both Meaford and Georgian Bluffs are larger than Owen Sound. | |
| Owen Sound is suffering from years of annual budget increases that have resulted in Owen Sound being the high taxed municipality in Grey-Bruce. Owen Sound homeowners feel a similar pain from high taxes as renters. Perhaps this is why the Owen Sound population is migrating to Georgian Bluffs - to escape the high taxes. If you owned a home in Georgian Bluffs assessed at $400,000 you would pay $2,868 in property taxes. Someone who owns a similar house in Owen Sound would pay $6,460 per year for property taxes. In other words if you live in a $400,000 home in Owen Sound and move to a similar house in Georgian Bluffs you would save $3,598 per year. | |
| Owen Sound Taxes increased at more than twice the rate of inflation between 2011 and 2020 and are increasing on average by $915,000 per year. The City’s revenue from taxes was $22 million in 2011 and will be $38 million by 2028. Our city ranked 103 out of 108 Ontario municipalities for high taxes. Four of the municipalities that had higher taxes were all in Northern Ontario where they face unique challenges. The Impact of successive years of large tax increases is that Owen Sound is slowly dying. Our high taxes are driving the population to adjacent municipalities and there is some evidence that a few businesses have migrated to Georgian Bluffs as well - McDonald's Flower Cart for example. Over a 20 year period the population of Meaford grew by 10.63%, with a growth rate of 45 residents per year, Georgian Bluffs grew by 9.61%, with a growth rate of 38.38 residents per year, while Owen Sound grew at only 0.68%, with a declining growth rated of -2.36 residents lost each year. At this rate there will be a time in the future when both Meaford and Georgian Bluffs are larger than Owen Sound. | |
| Council just passed the 2022 budget with a 2.51% tax increase to the disappointment of many taxpayers. However these same people don't hesitate to shop at businesses beyond Owen Sound's boundaries. Whether your purchases are made in Georgian Bluffs or on Amazon, the result is the same, that is there is no secondary benefit to Owen Sound taxpayers. For example, we have businesses, like McDonald's Flower Cart that relocated from Owen Sound to Georgian Bluffs. The result is that the taxes on the building they now occupy now goes to the municipality of Georgian Bluffs and not into Owen Sound coffers to pay for the many services we enjoy. |