The effective tax rate expresses property taxes as a percentage of a property's current market value, providing a more intuitive measure of tax burden than mill rates. While mill rates (taxes per $1,000 of assessed value) are used for official calculations, they can be misleading because assessments don't always equal market values. Effective tax rate is calculated by dividing annual property taxes by current market value and multiplying by 100. For example, if a home worth $400,000 pays $4,000 in annual taxes, the effective rate is 1%. This measure allows meaningful comparisons between jurisdictions with different assessment practices, between property classes, and across time periods. Effective tax rates vary significantly across Canada, influenced by both local tax policies and assessment practices.