Unpredictable. Unfocused. Just like life.

I currently live in Ontario, Canada, where property market value assessments are done every year for municipal tax purposes. In the past four years my assessments have increased by 10% in the first three years and almost 15% last year. Their has been a massive outcry about these increases, to the point that the provincial government froze assessments for two years.

Yesterday they announced that beginning in 2009 (if they are re-elected of course) assessments would only happen every four years, and increases would be phased in gradually over that time.So I suppose now I'll see a 40% increase in my four year assessment, but I'll only have to pay a 10% increase annually. That just doesn't seem like much of an improvement.

Of course a decrease will be applied immediately, though I'm not sure if anyone has actually every seen a decrease.