As announced in the provincial budget, the Ontario government plans to equalize the business education tax (BET) rate at 0.88 per cent for 2021, equating to a $450-million tax cut province-wide.

Proposed changes to Quebec's Act Respecting Municipal Taxation will tighten the timeline for disputing the property values ascribed to smaller apartment and commercial buildings assessed at less than $3 million.

A standing committee of New Brunswick's legislative assembly is exploring whether equipment and machinery used in manufacturing and industrial processes should be factored into the assessed value of the property.

A new government means a new round of scrutiny for Ontario's property assessment agency.

Assessment notices for nearly 16,000 Ontario multi-residential properties will be mailed out next week, delivering valuations determined for the first time with the newly adopted direct capitalization methodology.

Ontario's Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) reports province-wide residential property values have increased by an average of 4.5 per since January 2012.

The 2016 Ontario budget announces legislation is coming to "facilitate potential changes" to the property tax rebate on vacant commercial and industrial units.