Salmon Arm council has agreed to relieve some of the taxation burden on major industry.
At their last regular meeting, council supported a motion from Coun. Alan Harrison to reduce the class 4/major industry multiplier in the 2013 taxation year. Effectively, this will result in a shift of $25,000 from class 4 to other property tax classifications. In addition, council has agreed to review the class 4 tax multiplier in August, 2014.
“I think the summary really is that our class four taxation multiple is out of line with other class four multiples within the province, and we need to make moves to bring it closer to being in line,” commented Harrison. “This is, albeit a small move, but I think it is an indication. And we have agreed that we would look at the multipliers again next August.”
The move stems, in part, from a request by Federated Co-operatives Ltd. for a 50 per cent reduction in property taxes over a 10-year period. This would amount to $275,000, or a 1.97 per cent tax decrease.
“It should be noted council shifted $10,287.99 as a result of an assessment decrease of $192,100 for Class 4…,” writes city corporate service director Monica Dalziel in a memo to council. She then suggests the city could reduce the Class 4 multiple by 0.5 per cent in each of the next five years, shifting $25,000 annually.
For a residence assessed at $294,000, a $25,000 shift from major industry would result in an increase of $2.38.
Dalziel notes there have been legal challenges in B.C. regarding the taxation paid by Class 4/major industry properties, and “from time to time it has been mentioned to individual council members that it was thought that the Class 6 (business) property’s multiple is too high.”
Coun. Chad Eliason called Harrison’s motion a small, but good start.
“Not only is this a move that could possibly be legislated upon us… but it also is a message to that industry that those jobs are important to the City of Salmon Arm, that we do value those jobs and we are being proactive to keep those jobs in the community, and keep things moving forward with the forest industry in Salmon Arm,” said Eliason.
