CFJC Today

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Just for you, a straight-forward explanation of the City’s tax deadlines

May 4, 2020 | 4:40 AM

KAMLOOPS— YOU’VE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE figuring out the new City of Kamloops tax-payment deadlines, right?

You’re not alone; the city has tried to explain it several times and failed, so I’ll give it a whirl.

First off, you must pay your property taxes in Canadian currency. Stockpiled hand sanitizer and toilet paper will not be accepted in payment.

Second, you must pay by July 2. Unless you don’t want to. Then you can pay between July 3 and July 30, as long as you are in tax categories 1, 2, 3, or 9, in which case you won’t be assessed a five per cent penalty, which is usually 10 per cent as of July 3.

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A five per cent penalty will be added if you wait until July 31 but, if you pay by Sept. 30 you won’t have to pay another five per cent on top of the first five per cent, are wearing striped socks and it’s a full moon.

If you pay after Oct. 1, you will be assessed a 10 per cent penalty and must give back the puppy you adopted from the pound for company during self isolation.

But, you say, what if my property is in class 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8? In that case, ignore everything I’ve just said and pay before Oct. 1 or you’ll get whacked with 10 per cent.

The bottom line is that if you play your cards right, you can put off paying your property taxes for all of about 28 days, or wait a bit longer and pay a lower than usual penalty, all of which, if you’ve lost your job and/or your business in the pandemic, should make a whale of a difference.

That’s about it.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor, and you’re welcome.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.