Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

MLA Todd Stone reintroduces bill to help reduce property tax for small businesses

 

Todd Stone, MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson and Opposition Critic for Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation, has reintroduced a bill entitled the Assessment (Split Assessment Classification) Amendment Act, 2020 in the legislature.

By creating a new commercial property sub-class, this bill enables local governments to reduce property taxes for small businesses facing massive tax increases on the development potential of their unused airspace.

“Businesses should only pay tax on the space they actually use — not on the air above them,” said Stone. “But as urban centres grow, densification is placing huge pressure on our local small businesses, particularly those on the Lower Mainland, through dramatically increased property taxes based on the highest and best use of undeveloped airspace.

In some cases, organizations have seen a 200 to 300 per cent increase in property tax bills. I’m introducing this bill for a third time, as the legislation pushed through by the NDP government earlier this year will not provide municipalities and businesses with the solution they requested as countless businesses were forced to close permanently.”


John Horgan called the Legislature back with only one piece of legislation, but British Columbians are expecting more ideas to address the challenges our province is facing. This bill would be an optional tool for local governments to cut property tax to a rate that makes the most sense for each unique situation they try to address.

The new rate would only apply to the unused airspace above a business, while the business premises would be taxed at its normal rate.

“During this pandemic downturn, it's critical to deliver on split assessment to relieve cost pressures caused by sky-high property tax assessments for small business, arts groups and non-profits,” added Stone.

“This solution is supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders. Our communities were already losing cherished local businesses to skyrocketing property taxes before the pandemic and we can’t let COVID-19 hollow out our neighbourhoods any further. I urge the government to call this bill for debate and take immediate action before more small businesses are lost for good.”

 

 

File: Split-Classification-for-Unused-Airspace-FAQ_Dec-2020.pdf

 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

'Very good news' that Supreme Court will hear B.C. mineral claims case, Eby says

The BC government needs clarity from the Supreme Court of Canada on a landmark mineral rights claim, Premier David Eby says. But the lawyer representing the challenger says that they would have preferred the province respect the lower court's decision. Eby said Thursday it is very good news that the court will hear its appeal of a ruling that found the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the provincial mineral claims regime are "inconsistent." The BC Court of Appeal ruled in December that the provincial Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or DRIPA, should be "properly interpreted" to incorporate the UN declaration into the laws of B.C. with immediate legal effect. That ruling set off the appeal from the province amid concerns that it could cause economic uncertainty ... CLICK HERE for the full story 
Post a Comment
Read more

EBY OFFSIDE WITH NATIONAL INTEREST AS CARNEY AND SMITH BUILD BC'S ECONOMIC FUTURE WITHOUT HIM ~~ BC Conservatives

IMAGE CREDIT :  CBC News   Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a landmark agreement today committing Ottawa to designate a new pipeline to BC's west coast as a project of national interest by October 1, 2026, with construction approval targeted for September 1, 2027. The deal pairs the pipeline with a new industrial carbon pricing framework and a fall 2027 construction start. British Columbia, the province where the pipeline ends, where the jobs would land, and where the export terminal would be built, was nowhere at the table. "This is a nation-building deal, and the BC NDP have been locked out of the room," said Trevor Halford, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition.  "While the Prime Minister and the Premier of Alberta were doing the hard work of growing the Canadian economy, the NDP is on the sidelines calling this pipeline a 'fiction' and an 'energy vampire.'  He chose petulance over partnership, and now BC ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kamloops - North Thompson BC Conservative MLA Ward Stamer speaks to Bill 20 — K’ómoks Treaty Act

The following is a condensed version of Kamloops – North Thompson MLA Ward Stamer’s remarks, to the BC Legislature, on the afternoon of Tuesday May 19th : I rise today to continue remarks on Bill 20, the K’ómoks treaty, and to address what I believe are some of the most important constitutional, democratic and governance concerns facing this Legislature today. At the centre of this debate are two major issues. First, unresolved overlapping territorial boundaries tied to this treaty process. And second, the growing legal and political consequences arising from the provincial government’s implementation of the Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, more commonly known as DRIPA. Much of the government’s defence on DRIPA rests upon references to the United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, commonly known as UNDRIP. And this is where we must begin having a more honest and mature conversation in this province. UNDRIP was never originally designed to function ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more