Did you know that in 2006 according to the City's Finance department that the average Business Property Assessment went up 8%. However 2 of the local banks only increased by 2.6% and 1 actually decreased by 2.8%.
Don Quixote Note:
I've been pushing a simple plan to help lower the property tax burden on the small business owner in this area. It takes a leadership role to champion the cause and persuade the Provincial Government to change its legislation re the property tax exemption already given to all business from $10,000 to $50,000 (or any other figure agreed upon). You can see by the history of my previous postings that I have asked the City Council, D.V.A. and the Chamber of Commerce to take up the fight but to no avail. Once again at the last Council Meeting with the new head of the D.V.A. in the audience I suggested that they get together and discuss the idea so The City could take it to the UBCM meetings in the fall.
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JULY 24/2006 Suggested that the council bring up the subject of raising the business tax exemption from $10,000 to $50,000 with the DVA at their upcoming meeting. This exemption is in the balliwick of the Province but if it was championed at UBCM and ministerial meetings then it might be the way to help small businesses in our city
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May 8. 2006 A Small Business Property Tax Break While I'm on the help local business theme I am reintroducing an idea that even the Council Watchdog has indicated has merit. I call it A small business tax break . Naturally the local press ignored it because it contained big mind numbing number I guess. It was presented to representatives of the DVA and Chamber of Commerce with no response. Small local business people who have seen the proposal are quite impressed but no one will take a lead to make it an item on the provincial Agenda. The bottom line is that this proposal would allow the small business owner to pay less municipal property tax while the big business (read BIG BANKS, WALMART, BOX STORES [whose profits leave Vernon in most cases]) would pay more. I actually proposed this plan to city Council during the budget input meeting in Feb 2006 but it seems to have been forgotten. Now I know the Chamber of Commerce and the DVA represents both types of businesses (Big and Small) but surely they can get off their ASS and explain to their members why they can not support this idea and lobby their local Council and their local MLA. Let's lighten the load on small local businesses. Maybe the CITY COUNCIL can ask the DVA for their opinion on this tax matter when the BIA extension comes to Council shortly. --------------------------------------------------------------
July 11/2005 Don Quixote presented this idea for a small business property tax break at the last council meeting July 11/2005 They were asked to check the numbers and the feasibility of this proposal and to endorse its implementation to the Provincial Government through our local MLA. I maintain that the local small businesses (drug store, local pub, local radio station or locksmith) should be taxed at a different rate than the big businesses (banks, Walmart, Staples etc.). I was told that this was not allowed by provincial regulation. On closer examination I discovered that the big businesses were already paying at a higher effective rate than the smaller ones and had been doing so since 1984. In 1983 there were no exemptions to property assessments. In 1984 the first $10,000 of property assessment has been exempted and this continues to this present day. Now if the total amount to be taxed to the entire business class is a hypothetical $1,000,00 than the tax charged to the individual businesses changed from 1983 to 1984. It is obvious that a $10,000 exemption is worth more to a small owner whose property is assessed at $100,000 (10%) than the big owner whose property is assessed at $1,000,000 (1%) PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PROPOSAL. THERE WOULD BE NO EFFECT ON THE RESIDENTIAL TAXPAYER.
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