Property owners will have seen this year’s tax bills. And of course renters pay property taxes through their rent. And everyone may have seen some misinformation circulating about Victoria’s 2025 property tax increase.
I want to give residents a bit of context on where their money actually goes. (This, and the images, are drawn from this year’s tax bills from the City.)
First, the basics. Your property tax bill isn’t just a City of Victoria bill — 34% of what you pay goes directly to outside agencies, including the school district and BC Transit. The City receives only the remaining 66% (but we don’t keep all of that). See figure below.
Of that municipal 66%, the Victoria Police Department receives 37%. See figure below.
By the way, the police “department” isn’t actually a department of the city like a parks department or engineering department. It’s called a department, but it’s actually a completely separate entity, and it’s governed by a Police Board. The city is required by law to provide funding, but has no supervisory control. And the City doesn’t have much influence over the budget (for more on the legacy police budget process, see this post.)
So of every tax dollar you pay, less than half – just under 42% – actually goes to the City. And that has to cover all City services: parks, roads, sidewalks, recreation, fire, planning, bylaw, and more.
Now let’s talk about this year’s tax increase.
The overall tax increase is 7.28%. But here’s what often gets lost: 5.06 percentage points (about 70% of the entire increase) is attributable to the police budget increases. The remaining 2.22 percentage points (roughly 30% of the increase) covers everything else the City does.
That context matters. When people hear “7% tax increase!” and a claim that it reflects City Hall spending decisions, they are not getting an honest picture. The single largest driver of this year’s tax increase is the increased police budget.
Of the 2.22% attributable to the city, most of that is inflation. Asphalt and pipes are getting expensive much faster than the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the city is in the asphalt and pipes business.
So that’s the reality.
And if you are coming across social media posts or letters to the editor saying that the city’s spending is driving massive tax increases, you are seeing misinformation or disinformation.
Always check the source. Especially if the claim makes you angry.
Here is some information about misinformation and disinformation, its impact on democratic decision-making, and how you can help combat it.
If you have questions, I’m always happy to answer.