May 27, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fredericton, N.B – The Government of New Brunswick introduced legislation today aimed at making changes to the property tax system. The proposal as presented does not meet its commitment to comprehensive reform. The Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick urges the government to proceed immediately with a second phase to address the shortfalls.
“Local Governments are the most transparent, accountable, and fiscally responsible order of government” said Brittany Merrifield, President of UMNB. “Municipalities already create budgets based on the needs of their residents in an open and transparent forum.”
UMNB advocated for the following key points throughout the property tax consultation process:
- Giving municipalities more autonomy and flexibility to achieve fairness across all classes by decoupling the rates for each category.
- Immediate transfer of the industrial tax to local governments.
- Addressing the unfair impacts of the spike protection mechanism.
- Enabling the kinds of community development tools, such as a vacant land levy, to meet local and provincial priorities.
- Limiting property tax exemptions, justifying why properties are exempted, and showing the true cost.
- Ensuring that revenue from the 0.4115 road levy is allocated specifically to rural road maintenance, not general provincial revenue.
- Reforming timelines for information distribution to create robust sharing of assessment and tax data from GNB to all local governments.
“Although there are some positive elements, including a potential transfer of the industrial tax, more action and details are needed to meet the goals set out by the provincial government” said Brittany Merrifield, President of the Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick. “While we support the aim of creating a clear separation between property assessment and property tax, the reforms do not address the key priorities of addressing exemptions, decoupling the rates to allow local solutions to local challenges, or fixing the growing inequities created by spike protection.”
Local governments rely on property tax for an average of 85% of their total annual revenue, which is significantly higher than in other provinces. Any changes to the property tax system will impact the ability of local governments to address the needs their citizens deserve, and to partner with other orders of governments on shared priorities.
“Local governments have an obligation to look out for the best interests of the whole community and we have been advocating for greater flexibility to do just that,” added Merrifield. “There is no one size fits all solution when it comes to addressing the property tax system and the proposal does not give enough flexibility or autonomy to local governments to address those challenges.”
The Union urges the provincial government to act swiftly to enact a second phase that addresses the challenges that impact fairness for all property taxpayers.
About the UMNB: The Union of Municipalities of New Brunswick (UMNB) is a bilingual association of 59 local governments of all sizes, representing 85% of New Brunswick’s population. Together, our members tackle local challenges and share solutions to make life better for their citizens
Media inquiries are asked to be directed toward:
Vanessa Pettersson, Communications and Events Coordinator
(506) 444-2285