Nova Scotia records Atlantic Canada’s largest commercial property-tax rate gap
Commercial properties in Nova Scotia face municipal base tax rates averaging 2.46 times residential rates, the highest average among the four Atlantic provinces examined in CFIB’s 2026 report. In 19 of the 20 Nova Scotia municipalities studied, commercial rates were at least twice residential rates.
East Hants recorded the largest gap at 3.26 times, followed by Halifax at 2.99 and Cape Breton Regional Municipality at 2.91. These comparisons cover municipal base rates and exclude area-specific charges.
The report also examined actual tax revenues and assessment values. In Halifax, commercial properties represented approximately 12% of assessed property value but contributed 43% of property-tax revenue in 2024–25. Across all 20 municipalities, commercial properties contributed a greater share of tax revenue than their share of assessed value.
CFIB identifies municipal rate-setting as a major driver of these disparities. It also points to the Capped Assessment Program, which limits taxable assessment growth for eligible residential properties while excluding commercial properties, and the additional effects of area rates.
The findings add to Nova Scotia’s property-tax fairness discussion, although the commercial figures should not be applied directly to rental apartment buildings assessed in the residential class.
Source: Canadian Federation of Independent Business — Atlantic Canada Commercial Property Tax Report 2026, Nova Scotia section, pages 9–10.