Loading articles...

Council introduces new tax sub-class for small business

Last Updated May 9, 2018 at 12:26 am MDT

PHOTO. Nathalia Cordeau-Hilliard. Reporter.

A motion for a new tax sub-class for rural non-residential small business was brought forward by Councillor Stroud and approved unanimously at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

The new tax sub-class would reduce the 2018 municipal tax rate by 25 per cent for eligible rural non-residential small businesses. To qualify for the tax reduction the business can’t have anymore than 50 full-time employees Canada-wide and must operate under a municipal business licence.

All other rural businesses fall under the rural non-residential tax rate, which was reduced by 16 per cent for 2018.

According to the Rural Coalition, small businesses in hamlets of the RMWB were assessed at 375 per cent higher than those in the urban service area.

Ron Quintal, Spokesperson for the Rural Coalition called the change a ‘huge win’.

“This motion now makes opening up a small business in the rural hamlets of the RMWB possible, something that was out of reach for most.”

Quintal added that many of the rural hamlets in the municipality have no local businesses, creating a commute for everyday items.

The Property Tax Rate Bylaw, which will see a reduction of $58 million in property taxes for 2018, must be passed annually in order to complete plans set out in the approved Operating and Capital budgets.

Residential and urban non-residential property taxes increased by three per cent, while rural residential properties increased by five per cent. These changes bring property taxes down to $679 million this year, compared to $737 million in 2017.

Along with property taxes, the municipality’s tax ratio between rural non-residential and rural residential properties was also reduced from 17.94:1 to 14.30.1.  

The education tax also decreased by one per cent for residential properties and five per cent for non-residential, but the education tax remains the largest part of the tax bill with Urban property owners seeing 60 per cent of their bill going to education and Rural seeing 73 per cent.

A new Designated Industrial Property Requisition Tax Rate has also been added to the provincial portion of property taxes of designated Industrial Property owners.

Tax notices will be mailed out this month and are due by June 29.