BUSINESS TAX EXEMPTION to be pushed by Council ?

Click on image to see effect on business for an increase in exemption from $10,000 to $50,000 with the City still receiving the same amount of taxes from this class.

Last year the Vernon City Council by an unanimous vote supported by the Local Chamber of Commerce in writing but not by the DVA brought a resolution to UBCM that was adopted by that convention. The Provincial response to that resolution is shown below. The key part of that reply is "There is no need to provide such assistance province wide at this time."
The province did acknowledge the purpose of that first $10,000 exemption passed in 1984 to be: "The exemptions were intended to provide assistance to small business enterprises"

Now 24 years later despite inflation and vastly higher assessments with the resultant larger disparity between the small local business and the big banks and box stores the Province has indicated that they will not change the exemption rate on a province wide basis.

• Will the City of Vernon reintroduce this resolution asking for the ability of local Government to make an assessment exemption adjustment in their own taxing jurisdiction?
• Will the City of Vernon make this a project that they will communicate to all municipalities in the province and send an accomplished Council Member that can forcefully advocate this long overdue reform at the UBCM convention in September ?
  
• Will the Chamber of Commerce not only support the local Council in writing again but advocate their support to other Chambers of Commerce throughout the Province?
• Will the DVA show their support for this initiative that will benefit the smaller businesses in this City?
  

Provincial Response to B121 BUSINESS TAX EXEMPTION
WHEREAS the statutory property exemption for business Class 6 assessments is $10,000 regardless of the property value; AND WHEREAS the business Class 6 exemption has remained unchanged since implementation in 1984 despite increasing assessments:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the provincial government review the business class exemption for Class 6 assessments and consider a significant increase in the statutory property exemption, in order to provide small businesses, in the Province of British Columbia, a fair exemption for their increased assessed property value.

Response: Ministry of Community Services
The property tax exemptions for Class 4, Industrial, 5, Light Industrial and 6, Business, improvements were prescribed by regulation in 1984 in response to a severe downturn in the general economy of the Province of British Columbia (Province). The exemptions were intended to provide assistance to small business enterprises throughout the Province. Although not all areas of the Province share in the current economic wellbeing, the present economic outlook is extremely promising for the Province as a whole. There is no need to provide such assistance province wide at this time.

Amendments enacted to Section 226 of the Community Charter provide municipalities with the opportunity to provide for revitalization tax exemptions for any revitalization objectives, including economic revitalization. These provisions will allow a municipality to target the kinds of economic activities and investment which will be in the best interests of the community.