Vancouver council rejects small business leaders’ tax break plea
Expert, BIAs had asked city to shift a portion of businesses’ property tax burden to homes
Agroup of small business leaders argued unsuccessfully last week to have Vancouver city council to shift a portion of businesses’ property tax load to homeowners’ bills.
Council was unanimous in rejecting the leaders’ pleas and based their decision on an independent review of the city’s tax policy by Ernst & Young, which concluded there was “no compelling evidence” to shift a bigger portion of tax to residential property owners.
The leaders were asking for a two-per-cent shift over four years. Residential property owners currently pay §. per cent of the tax share, and non-residential pays ¢.¤ per cent.
“This decision made today is not made lightly by any stretch,” said Coun. Rebecca Bligh last Wednesday, noting she supported a tax shift in ¤.
Representatives of four business improvement associations, a property tax expert and a senior policy analyst from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) requested council give businesses a tax break.
Emily Boston of the CFIB said recent data from the organization showed that four in Vancouver small businesses have seen their property tax bill increase by at least per cent in the last year.
And more than three in businesses have seen their bill increase by more than per cent, she said.
“A small business owner wrote into CFIB saying we simply cannot get ahead with rising rents, property taxes and poor economic conditions,” Boston told council.
She cited CFIB data that showed shifting Vancouver’s property tax revenue distribution by two per cent over four years—half a per cent yearly—would return “substantial savings” to businesses.
“The average commercial property in Vancouver would save more than $ ¢ ,£ over four years,” she said. “But in stark contrast, it would only cost the average residential property an extra $¨¨¢.”
Jane Talbot, CEO of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, said that in the last decade, taxes per residential property increased by $,¨£¤, while taxes per commercial property went up by $,£.
“That is a § -per-cent difference,” she said.
A city staff report that summarized Ernst & Young’s review of Vancouver’s tax policy said there was “no compelling evidence” that warrants a tax shift between non-residential and residential property classes at this time.
In his closing remarks, Mayor Ken Sim thanked the leaders for speaking to council and “not being afraid to have these conversations in this chamber.”
“If our small businesses don’t succeed, we don’t succeed,” he said. ¦