Plateau-Mont-Royal resident Robert Gignac started a blog after his property assessment rose by 30 per cent. (vivresurleplateau.blogspot.com)Some homeowners facing steep tax increases in the Plateau-Mont-Royal and South-West boroughs are preparing their appeals as the deadline to pay approaches.

March 1 is the deadline for Montrealers to pay their property tax bills, some of which have skyrocketed by hundreds or even thousands of dollars due to a hot housing market.

Plateau homeowner Robert Gignac has decided to appeal after the assessment on his Lanaudière Street home rose by 30 per cent, resulting in a 2011 property tax bill of more than $5,000.

'It's not like it's tough enough to run a small business in Montreal. We don't need curve balls like this.'—Max Turchetta, South-West property owner

"A lot of people say that you are sitting on a gold mine because your home is worth a lot of money. But if I had to sell it, where would I go?" he said.

Gignac is not alone in his fury. He has collected 3,000 signatures on a petition he posted in coffee shops around the neighbourhood and on his blog, Vivre sur le Plateau.

He hopes the petition will encourage city officials to look for new ways of raising revenue besides levying tax increases.

South-West entrepreneurs worry

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay announced a series of property tax increases at a news conference in December 2010. (Kim McNairn/CBC)Commercial, industrial and residential property valuations have risen across the island by an average of 22 per cent this year compared to the previous assessment done four years ago.

As a result, residents in the Plateau-Mont-Royal and Sud-Ouest boroughs are seeing their overall tax bills rise the most with taxes increasing 6.8 per cent and 7.3 per cent respectively.

Max Turchetta, who owns a business and several properties in St-Henri, said the tax increases have an impact on more than just property owners in the South-West.

He said entrepreneurs will suffer when their landlords up the rent to compensate.

"I have three friends who have opened up little restaurants and cafés on Notre-Dame (Street) in the South-West. It's us who are feeling the brunt of the taxes because the landlord relays 100 per cent of the increase to the entrepreneur," he said.

"It's not like it's tough enough to run a small business in Montreal. We don't need curve balls like this."

Key questions to ask

To contest an assessment, a property owner must file an application for review with the valuation office at city hall. The application must be made by the end of April.

Chartered appraiser Neil Gold said people should ask themselves an important question before deciding whether or not to contest.

"The taxpayer should look at his tax bill and his assessed value and ask himself the question, 'Could I have sold my property at that price at the first of January 2009?' If the answer is yes, certainly I could have easily, then he should not be applying," said Gold.

Gold said property owners should keep in mind that properties are assessed every three years, so the increase represents the growth in value over that period of time.

"It's true that some of the increases this year are quite high," said Gold.

Deadline applies to all

City officials say people must pay their property taxes on time, regardless if they plan to appeal.

Turchetta has decided not to contest his bill. As a small business owner, he doesn't have time to deal with city hall, he said.

"You work 16 hour days. Sure we can contest this, but we don't have the time to contest it. So we're going to have to pay this. That's that."