Tories promise tax deferral for seniors who own homes

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This article was published 07/09/2023 (773 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Progressive Conservatives have promised to create a program to allow Manitoba seniors to defer all or some of their yearly property taxes.

Scott Johnston, the minister for seniors and candidate for Assiniboia, said that if re-elected, the PCs would pay the deferred taxes to local governments on the senior homeowner’s behalf. The amount, plus interest would need to be repaid when the home is sold, said Johnston, who called the plan cost-neutral.

Johnston made the announcement in front of a home in Charleswood Thursday as he was flanked by fellow PC candidate Kevin Klein and party supporters.

“We know there’s financial pressure on most seniors who want to stay in place and stay where they laid their roots,” said Johnston, who described himself as a “young senior.” The median income for Manitobans age 65 and older was $34,800 in 2021.

“This will save seniors on fixed incomes thousands of dollars and keep their everyday costs down.”

Johnston said the program would be open to all Manitoba seniors, regardless of their income or means to pay taxes.

He couldn’t say how much the program would cost to administer but insisted it would pay for itself. Similar deferral programs exist in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan, Johnston said.

In Saskatchewan, to be eligible for the property tax deferment plan, those 65 and older must have a total annual household income below $70,000. In Alberta, program information states in bold that “eligibility is not based on your income.” In B.C., the deferral program is available to homeowners 55 and older, with no income cap listed.

Manitoba already has a tax deferral program under the law. The Homeowners Tax and Insulation Assistance Act, which passed in 1987, says that where a municipality permits an eligible taxpayer to defer payment of a part of tax levied in any year against their principal residence, the minister may lend to the municipality an amount equal to the amount of tax deferred.

University of Manitoba economics Prof. Gregory Mason, who is a senior citizen, questioned the need for a provincial government property tax deferral program, calling it a “political sop” to appeal to a demographic that votes.

“Yes, there are seniors in crummy apartments eating Kraft Dinner,” but most are not, Mason said.

“Seniors are, as a group, well off,” he said.

He questioned why the Tories would want the government to administer such a program and how many seniors would use it.

The province could provide loan guarantees and have banks administer it, similar to the Canada student loan program. “It would be more elegant and not require as much government bureaucracy,” he said Thursday.

The Liberals dismissed the PC plan for other reasons.

“This isn’t helpful for seniors. It’s predatory because the government isn’t paying for any of it — seniors are,” Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said in a prepared statement. “Manitoba Liberals have committed to a home renovation fund, home assessments at 70, and ensuring that people can get home care and access to transit. The PC plan provides none of that.”

When asked to respond to the PCs’ promise of a property tax deferral for seniors, the NDP instead went after Premier Heather Stefanson for not attending her party’s news conference.

“The reason Heather Stefanson skipped her own announcement today is because of her government’s terrible record on seniors,” the NDP’s Uzoma Asagwara said in prepared statement.

“She has made life harder and more expensive: she cut the renters credit for seniors on fixed incomes, increased hydro rates on seniors trying to live independently, and cut home care services,” the candidate for Union Station said.

An NDP government would reduce costs for seniors by freezing hydro rates, protecting affordable housing, and investing in home care so that seniors can age in place, Asagwara said.

Mason said all the parties are making campaign promises that concern him.

“Much of the policy floating around now from all the parties is ‘spend more money, create more bureaucracy.’ No one’s talking about how do we do things more efficiently.”

A spokesperson said the City of Winnipeg isn’t able to comment on the tax deferral plan without a proper review of the policy.

Canadian Taxpayers Federation president Gage Haubrich said “it’s a good thing” PCs want to help people struggling with property tax bills but the deferral plan is a “Band-Aid solution to a bigger problem.”

“The provincial government can do only so much. In this case, it’s the cities and municipalities across Manitoba that are causing this cost-of-living pain by making seniors and every other homeowner pay so much in property taxes,” Haubrich said.

The PCs also promised a new $500 tax credit for seniors to help cover the cost of mobility aids such as wheelchairs, walkers and improvements to their home.

“Our PC team heard from Manitoba seniors that they want financial security to age in their own homes,” Johnston said Thursday in front of a bungalow with a wheelchair ramp. “They want to ensure they have access to mobility devices and can afford to live where they put their down their roots many years ago.”

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The head of a non-profit, non-partisan group that advocates for retirees said she has no confidence in Johnston or his party, based on the their track record in government.

“I’m always very suspect because they have cut so much that has affected seniors over the last seven years, that it’s hard for me to believe that suddenly all these wonderful things are going to happen,” said Carmen Nedohin, president of the Winnipeg chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons.

Seniors have seen a decline in home-care services and supports, and the tax credit for renters was slashed, said Nedohin, who’s met with Johnston.

“They promised 1,200 more personal care beds and we’ve seen nothing like that.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca

Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter

Carol Sanders is a reporter at the Free Press legislature bureau. The former general assignment reporter and copy editor joined the paper in 1997. Read more about Carol.

Every piece of reporting Carol produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.