Question of the Day: Do burial plots pay property taxes?

[Dave2]

Thinking about the old saying that the only things in life that are sure are death and taxes. 

So if you combine the two do Burial plots pay property taxes and has anyone ever seen a tax sale of a burial plot/cemetary??

 

[Frank]

Cemeteries are exempt from taxation. 

Municipalities are obligated by legislation to take over private cemeteries which are abandoned....and it happens more often than you realize.   

[Dave2]

Cemeteries are exempt from taxation.  

Municipalities are obligated by legislation to take over private cemeteries which are abandoned....and it happens more often than you realize.    

Oh well another attempt to avoid this hungry wolfpack bites the dust.   Got to go looking for something else.  

I don't think I will be ever able to buy my scottish home.

http://www.escapehere.com/destination/scotlands-12-most-amazing-castles/?utm_source=taboola&utm_campaign=escapehere_desktop&utm_medium=cpc  

[g2020]

Frank is absolutely correct, however it is not always that cut and dry. About 8 years ago we bought a large piece of farmland on Tax sale that had a small cemetery in the wood lot portion of the farmland. Yes the municipality announced that they would maintain the cemetery portion, but we received no property tax relief because we were already getting the farm tax rebate. I am a member of a rural cemetery board for a cemetery that also contains a concert hall/church. The cemetery is maintained as part of the holdings of the United Church of Canada, but the municipal tax relief only covers that portion of the land actually occupied by the cemetery. Bottom line, if you ever see a tax sale property with even one gravesite, run - you will have an almost impossible time selling it! No body wants the hassle.

[Frank]

G2020 is quite correct, there are peculiar situations that arise, as cemeteries were not always cut out into distinguishable pieces of land, they often formed parts of churches or a corner of a farm....you know the knoll that has a large maple at the top, and the settlers buried their dead under the tree as it was a nice place to be for the rest of eternity.

We had one fellow in a town that I worked for that had turned the cemetery (which had a nice fence around it) into a dog run.  The old headstones were removed and some used at the bottom of the fence to keep the dogs in, and some used to line the banks of a creek on the property.  When descendants of made their way back to town for a reunion at the historic cemetery they were aghast at what they saw and immediately came to the town for assistance.  The Cemeteries Act allowed the town (with the assistance of the province) to step in and right the wrong, but it took a long time....while the town was mandated to take over the cemetery, they had no way to get to it without trespassing over this fellows property.

One final point, there are cemeteries that are not marked at all.  I am referring to native burial grounds.  I've built a few homes/cottages, and I always keep my fingers crossed when the basements are being excavated.  If you happen to come across bones on your site, you will be faced with significant delays.

Bottom line is ....run.  

[ruok]

A number of years ago, I also found an old headstone on a tax sale property that I won. It was still upright and in fairly good shape considering it had been there since 1918.The property was heavily treed and there was thick brush all around the headstone.  When I sold the property a few years later, I  advised the buyer of my find and showed them the secret location. The husband and wife took it upon themselves to be the caretaker of the site especially since it was for young child.
In my case I was upfront and it worked out, but that being said, it could have been a real disadvantage in trying to sell.

[Dave2]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-04/scarce-cemetery-space-creates-prices-to-die-for-cities.html

And we thought Canadian prices were high??

[Frank]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-04/scarce-cemetery-space-creates-prices-to-die-for-cities.html

And we thought Canadian prices were high??

I've promised to distribute my wife's ashes in the geographic center of Lake Muskoka....she wants to be one with nature.  

She has promised to distribute mine in a Home Depot parking lot....lol.