TERRACE city council voted April 18 to pass a provisional tax bylaw which it will discuss again at an April 22 council meeting with a view to adopting it on May 13.
“Whether you own a home or business your tax bill should be about the same plus 2 per cent,” said director of finance Ron Bowles during a presentation to council.
This year the value of homes (up approximately 4 per cent) rose more than the value of businesses (up approximately .5 per cent) according to 2012 assessments.
As a result, the overall tax rate multiple is now at 4.37 per cent, up from 4.2 per cent in 2011.
Council noted this number is high compared to surrounding municipalities.
Compared to Quesnel (2.97), Smithers (3.65), Hazelton (2.45), Houston: (2.87), Prince Rupert: (2.71), and Dawson Creek (3.39) it is in fact the highest.
“A tax rate multiple is an indicator of the amount of property taxes paid compared to the value of your home or business,” Bowles said.
Councillor Brian Downie commented that this higher rate is a result of Terrace businesses having to pay more tax proportionally when compared to homeowners.
“We’re protecting residential owners staying within two per cent and businesses are carrying more of the load but we can’t do anything about it at this point,” Downie said.
James Cordeiro noted that lowering taxes for businesses would mean the big companies would profit more, so there is no easy solution within the current taxation system. He also noted that the low number of industry taxpayers in Terrace means residences and businesses need to bear more of the burden.
The city has only a certain degree of control over rates, Bowles added, as the utility tax and transit tax are capped by the provincial government. He also said that the assessment formula for the tax rate multiple isn’t very reliable.
