Tax Grinch pays early visit to Vancouver businesses
Overtaxed Vancouver businesses receive advance tax notices
December 13, 2006, Vancouver, BC - Business owners in Vancouver are bracing themselves for the arrival of the city's advance tax notices. Although city council has acknowledged that property taxes on business are too high, the business community received another property tax increase in 2006, and could be faced with another increase in 2007.
"The city tax grinch is stealing our Christmas. Business owners continue to be hit with increasing property taxes, even though city council knows this has gotten out of hand," said Bob Laurie, Co-Chair of the Vancouver Fair Tax Coalition.
"These tax notices will sound the death knell for many small businesses," continued Laurie. "More than 30 businesses have left Yaletown this year alone, not to mention the many others across the city that have closed down, cut back on staff or minimized investments in their businesses."
If the City of Vancouver approves its preliminary budget estimates for 2007, Vancouver business owners could be faced with an additional 6.3 per cent tax increase for the coming year. This would mean an $836 tax increase for a business property assessed at $900,000, versus a $144 tax increase for a residential property of similar value.
Even though business owners consume less than a third of total municipal services, they subsidize 50 per cent of every dollar of municipal services consumed by Vancouver residents," stated Ed Des Roches, Co-Chair of the coalition. "This is an excessive tax subsidy and it is unsustainable."
The Vancouver Fair Tax Coalition represents more than 43,000 local businesses concerned about the high municipal property taxes they pay. |
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