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VICTORIA — The B.C. government is proposing to increase the homeowner grant threshold.
Finance Minister Colin Hansen says legislation to be introduced during the February budget is in response to a significant increase in assessed property values.
He says rising property values create concern for a number of people — especially seniors on fixed incomes — who stand to lose some or all of the grant.
The threshold for unreduced grants would rise to $685,000 from $585,000, allowing some 21,000 homeowners to receive the full grant in 2005.
The phase-out rate would also be cut by 50 per cent to $5 per $1,000 of assessed value above the threshold.
The basic grant entitles a homeowner to a maximum reduction in residential property taxes of $470.
An additional grant of $275 is also available to those over 65, permanently disabled or eligible to receive certain war veterans’ allowances.
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