This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document.
Snapshot 4dac7e7f347d · verified 2026-06-05 ·
original document ·
archived snapshot ·
unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.
Region of Queens Municipality
Operational Policy No. 4 - Payment of Taxes
______________________________________________________________________________
BE IT ENACTED by the Council of Region of Queens Municipality, under the
authority of the Municipal Government Act, S.N.S. 1998, Chapter 18, as follows:
This policy shall be known as Policy Number 4 and may be cited as the
"Payment of Taxes Policy".
(1) POLICY PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to establish a process for the collection and payment
of taxes, including the interest rate for overdue taxes and when a tax sale process
shall begin.
(2) AUTHORITY
Section 38 of the Municipal Government Act notes that the treasurer shall
promptly advise the council of:
(a) all moneys due to the municipality that the treasurer considers cannot
reasonably be collected after pursuing all reasonable avenues of
collection; and
(b) The reasons for the belief that such moneys cannot be collected, and
the council may write off the amounts determined to be uncollectible.
Section 111(1) of the Municipal Government Act provides that council may
determine:
Region of Queens Municipality
Operational Policy 4 - Payment of Taxes
Page 2 of 6
(a) the due date for taxes;
(b) that taxes are payable in one sum or by installments.
Section 113 of the Municipal Government Act states that:
(1) The council may impose interest, at a rate determined from time to time
by policy, for non-payment of taxes when due.
(2) Interest shall be added to the unpaid taxes and shall be collected as if
the interest originally formed part of the unpaid taxes.
(3) Interest shall be calculated according to the length of default in
payment.
(4) The council may provide that interest be compounded, not more
frequently than monthly.
(3) DEFINITIONS
"special purpose tax" means a tax that the council, by resolution, declares to be
a special purpose tax.
"taxes" includes municipal rates, area rates, special purpose tax, change in use
tax, forest property tax, recreational property tax, capital charges, one-time
charges, local improvement charges and any rates, charges or debts prescribed,
by the enactment authorizing them, to be a lien on the property.
"tax sale" includes a sale by public auction or a sale by tender, for the purpose of
collecting taxes.
"write-off of taxes" is the process by which the municipality allocates any amounts
that are deemed uncollectible from taxes outstanding into its valuation
allowance fund, where such taxes have been assessed and setup as an accounts
receivable.
(4) DUE DATE FOR TAXES
Municipal property taxes shall be payable once per year and shall be due on
June 30th for the then current fiscal year of April 1st to March 31st henceforth.
Region of Queens Municipality
Operational Policy 4 - Payment of Taxes
Page 3 of 6
Should June 30th fall on a weekend or holiday, then the due date shall be the
next business day after June 30th.
(5) INTEREST ON OVERDUE TAXES
Interest on any overdue taxes shall be or 1 % monthly, with interest compounded
monthly on the first day of each month they remain unpaid.
In cases where a property tax payment has been applied to the incorrect
account by the payer, but the total tax amount has been received by the
Municipality, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) or Treasurer may, at their
discretion, waive accrued interest if the error has been corrected by the property
owner alerting the Municipality within 30 days of being notified, or attempted
notification, regarding the account being overdue.
(6) APPLICATION OF PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT
When a property owner fails to pay their property taxes in full when due, the
following method of applying payment in accordance with Section 131 of the
Municipal Government Act shall apply:
(1)
(a) firstly, to the payment of the taxes rated upon the person in
respect of business occupancy assessment;
(b) secondly, to the payment of any other taxes that are not a lien
on any property; and
(c) thirdly, to the payment of accumulated interest and then the
taxes longest in arrears with respect to any real property designated
by the person.
(2)
Where no real property is designated, the treasurer shall, subject to
the priorities listed in subsection (1), apply the amount received to
the payment of the taxes longest in arrears.
Region of Queens Municipality
Operational Policy 4 - Payment of Taxes
Page 4 of 6
(3)
The acceptance of part payment does not prevent the collection of
any interest imposed in respect of non-payment of taxes or an
installment of taxes.
(4)
Where taxes are paid on behalf of a purchaser of real property, the
taxes shall be applied to taxes due with respect to the property
designated by the person paying the taxes, including any business
occupancy tax owed by the vendor with respect to the vendor's
occupancy of that property.
(7) ACTIVATION OF TAX SALE PROCESS
Any tax account which is assessed as being taxable according to the Assessment
Act of Nova Scotia and is more than two years in arrears of taxes, shall be subject
to immediate tax sale proceedings, regardless of the amount of taxes
outstanding. For greater certainty, properties that have a current payment
arrangement plan in place and are not in default, shall not be deemed more
than two years in arrears if the payments are current and no payments are missed.
Once tax sale proceedings have begun, no property shall be removed from the
tax sale process unless the amount due and payable on that particular day have
been paid in full.
(8) WRITE OFF OF TAXES
Where the Treasurer has exhausted all reasonable means of collection of
outstanding taxes, and the Treasurer and Municipal Auditor are of the opinion
that further tax collection processes and procedures do not have a reasonable
probability of collection versus the costs involved in collecting the same, the
Treasurer shall provide a report to Audit and Internal Control Committee, on or
before April of each year, and request that they recommend to Council that the
amounts deemed uncollectible be written off at the previous March 31st year
end.
(9) ACCOUNTABILITY
Region of Queens Municipality
Operational Policy 4 - Payment of Taxes
Page 5 of 6
Responsibility for the oversight and implementation of this policy shall lie with the
Municipality's Manager of Finance, who is appointed as the Municipality's
Treasurer, and shall carry out their function according to the terms and conditions
of this policy. It shall be the responsibility of the Manager of Finance to bring forth
clear recommendations to the Audit and Internal Control Committee for review
related to any required changes in this policy or its ensuing implementation
practices.
(10) EFFECTIVE DATE
This policy shall take effect from the date of approval by Council.
(11) REPEAL
Policy 4 - Unpaid Taxes adopted by the Council of Region of Queens Municipality
on the 8th day of October 2013, is hereby repealed.
Administrative Policy 6 -Minimum Taxes Outstanding Before Proceeding to Tax
Sale, adopted by the Council of Region of Queens Municipality on the 15th day
of February 1999, is hereby repealed.
Administrative Policy 12 -Preliminary Notice for Tax Sales, adopted by the Council
of Region of Queens Municipality on the 19th day of October 1999, is hereby
repealed.
Administrative Policy 15 -Payment of Taxes by Installments, adopted by the
Council of Region of Queens Municipality on the 20th day of March 2000, is
hereby repealed.
Administrative Order -Interest on Overdue Taxes, adopted by the Coordinating
Committee of Region of Queens Municipality on the 19th day of March 1996, is
hereby repealed.
Region of Queens Municipality
Operational Policy 4 - Payment of Taxes
Page 6 of 6
VERSION LOG
Version
Number
Amendment
Description
Amendment/Policy
Owner
Approved
By
Approval
Date
1.0
Creation of Policy
Director of Finance
Council
2025-02-25
2.0
Housekeeping
Edits and
Formatting
Municipal Clerk
Council
N/A
OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION
I, Angela Green, Municipal Clerk for Region of Queens Municipality, hereby certify
that this policy was duly approved.
_______________________________
Angela Green
Municipal Clerk