What is a Benchmark?

According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, a benchmark is a “point of reference” for measurement.  A benchmark is whatever you decide to measure yourself against or compare yourself to.

Types of Benchmarks

Three types of benchmarks are frequently used:

• a recognized standard,
  e.g. “the Canadian dollar is trading at 1.03 U.S. dollars;”
• a group of peers,
  e.g. “they grew faster than any other mid-sized Canadian city;”or
• yourself
  e.g. “spending by the organization increased 3% from the prior year.”

Why Benchmark?

Good benchmarking allows for meaningful measurements of trends and/or performance.  When comparing to peers, it may also help better understand competitiveness.

Limitations of Benchmarks

Benchmarks provide only part of the story, just one perspective.  For example, a measure of average tax does not tell you about the difference in services that are provided by different organizations or other revenues they may have, e.g. user fees, government transfers.

As well, averages do not reveal the differences between individuals.  For example, individual property taxes are based on individual assessments which can vary significantly from one property to another.

What Taxation Benchmarks are on this Site?

Residential taxes on single-family homes are shown, from 2008 to present. 

Commercial taxes (per square foot of leased space) are shown, based on a January 2011 survey. 

For more Information

If you have questions about these benchmarks, please contact:

André MacNeil
Sr. Financial Consultant
HRM Finance
macneia[at]halifax.ca