New Brunswick will prioritize other recommendations to separate property assessment from taxation, despite a report’s main suggestion.
Last week, the government released a review of New Brunswick’s property assessment services as part of its promise to overhaul the province’s property tax system.
The report — completed by the International Property Tax Institute, a non-profit organization that supports stakeholders in developing and maintaining effective property tax systems — found that while New Brunswick’s property assessment methods align with international best practices, the way property taxes are handled is confusing.
The review evaluated three main areas: the methodology used to assess properties, the laws and regulations governing property assessment, and the design of current practices.
IPTI’s approach also included jurisdictional scans, a review of standards and reports, and consultation with stakeholder groups, including taxpayers, tax agents, local and provincial governments, and various associations.
According to stakeholders interviewed by the institute, many of the system’s challenges stem from the fact that both the province and municipalities charge property taxes.
The report also noted that the lack of a clear distinction between property assessment and property taxation contributes to confusion, which the review says is why the public perceives the system as lacking transparency.
“This ‘blurring’ leads to problems of accountability and responsibility which, in IPTI’s view, is the fundamental problem the government needs to address,” said the report.
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Other issues identified included the local impact of a centralized system on municipalities. In New Brunswick, the provincial government handles both assessment and tax collection across the province.
The report said that while this ensures consistency in property assessment, it disconnects local governments from the direct impact of their budget and tax-rate decisions on taxpayers.
To make the system less confusing and address issues of accountability and responsibility, the report recommended turning the province’s property assessment services into a separate organization.
It also suggested property assessments services no longer deal with property tax matters unrelated to assessment, that it be independently responsible for its operational activities, and that it be funded through charges paid by both local and provincial governments.
By separating property assessment services from the province, the review said property assessment services would be seen as independent from other parts of the provincial government, which the report called “an important safeguard in any property tax system.”
Local Government minister doesn’t believe an independent assessment body is necessary
However, Local Government Minister Aaron Kennedy said the province is prioritizing other steps to separate assessment from taxation.
Kennedy, who is also the minister responsible for Service New Brunswick, said adding another layer of “bureaucracy” would not mean much for New Brunswickers.
“What they want to see is a stable, predictable, transparent, and fair property tax system, so they don’t have to choke when they see a huge increase in their assessment in January,” he said.
Kennedy said the report is a precursor to what is coming this week, when the government introduces a new bill at the legislature on Wednesday.
He said the government believes a substantial property assessment increase should not mean a significant rise in property taxes.
“If your house goes up by $50,000 in its assessment this year, that numbers has absolutely no impact on the services that are required at your house [and] there is no correlation between that and how much you pay for fire protection or police protection,” he explained.
The report included 39 recommendations focused on organizational structure, communications and stakeholder engagement, and other operational enhancements.
It also included 18 endorsements for activities already underway, including a new computer-assisted mass appraisal system, and 11 suggestions that were outside the scope of the review.
Of the 39 recommendations, Kennedy said the government is prioritizing 26 — based on the objectives of the overhaul and Service New Brunswick. As of May 2026, three were completed or near completion, five were in progress, and the remainder — including multi-year projects — are planned to be completed between 2028 and 2029.
Kennedy declined to provide more details on how the province will achieve this separation, or specifics on which recommendations the government is considering, before introducing the next steps at the legislature.
However, he said the government has been working on reinspections, aiming to reinspect about 46,000 properties this year.
The government has also extended the appeal period for property tax assessments from 21 days to 30 days and expanded its online presence to provide people with more educational resources on their tax bills and assessments, he said.
“At its core, what we are going to be coming forward with the next weeks is that if your assessment goes up, the municipal tax rate should come down to ensure [municipalities] get the money that they need at a reasonable rate,” he added.
The report also suggested the province consider relaxing existing limits on local governments in relation to their tax-rate-setting powers.
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Local governments set residential property tax rates, but once established, those rates also apply to other property types — such as industrial properties — within a provincially prescribed range, which is between 1.4 and to 1.7 times of the residential property tax rate.
As cities like Saint John have been advocating for greater flexibility in municipal property taxation, Kennedy said the government will address expanding municipalities’ tax-rate-setting powers during the announcement.
