On July 5, 2017, the Town of Shelburne enacted a by-law establishing a Commercial Development Support Program, designed to stimulate property improvements and facilitate the growth of the Town's economy.
Commercial Development District map
The Town of Shelburne’s Commercial Development District Improvement Program By-Law takes advantage of the recent change to the Municipal Government Act to “authorize municipal councils to make a by-law providing for the phasing-in, over a period of up to 10 years, of an increase to the taxable assessed value of certain or contaminated properties located in a commercial development district established by the by-law and further providing for the cancellation, reduction or refund of taxes paid as a result of the phasing-in.”.
Making changes to a commercial property? You can phase in an increase in your taxes over 10 years.
This means that property owners within the Commercial Development District (shown below) can apply for annual partial rebates of up to ten years on commercial taxes if they have undertaken the development of the property.
Example
For a $50,000 property renovation taxed at $3.86 per $100 of improvements...
- You would pay an additional $1,930/year in property taxes or $19,300 over ten years
- The annual rebate allows you to be refunded 50% of taxes paid due to the improvement over a ten-year period, a total of $9,650
Development can include new commercial building construction, or the expansion of an existing building to realize more effective utilization of the property’s potential. It also includes improvements to home-based businesses. Eligible property must enter into a Phased In Assessment Agreement with the Town prior to receiving a development rebate. More details can be found in the link at the bottom of this page. To get started, check out the full Commercial Development District Improvement Program By-Law on our By-Laws page, and contact CAO Sarah Mattatall, at sarah.mattatall@shelburnens.ca or (902) 875-2991 ext.4.