St. Albert business-owners feel that they are being unfairly targeted for the city’s shortcomings.
Last week administration presented a number of methods to lessen the tax burden on residents, who currently pay the highest property tax rates in the capital region – the most immediate of which was to impose unequal tax increases on residential and non-residential properties.
While some business owners who live in the community said they would welcome the residential tax break, they believe they pay enough business taxes as it is.
Andrew Phelps, owner of Cranky’s Bike Shop in downtown St. Albert, said he wasn’t sure why established businesses should be penalized for the city’s inability to grow the non-residential tax base.
“I live here too, so I have to pay both taxes. I understand – everybody wants the residential reduced,” he said. “It almost feels like (the city) couldn’t get it organized for what they wanted and now we have to pay the price for that. It doesn’t quite seem right to me.”
Phelps was also worried that the potential tax rate increases would deter new businesses from setting up shop in St. Albert and only aggravate the situation further.
“It basically makes it worse. Instead of helping encourage businesses to come here now, it’s like you actually have to pay a little bit higher rate,” he said. “To me it would be detrimental; you’re going to scare away people that are thinking about making big investments because they have to pay more taxes.”
Former councillor and chair of the now-defunct St. Albert Economic Development Advisory Committee, Malcolm Parker, said that administration is missing the point with its proposed short- to medium-term solutions.
He said the city needs to continue its focus on increasing its commercial and industrial assessment base and argued that a sudden bump in non-residential tax rates would work against business attraction.
“For me the answer isn’t to go and hike the tax rate for businesses – particularly when we’re starting to hear on the provincial and federal scene that they want to increase taxes for corporations and small business – that’s just not going to help the situation at all,” said Parker.
He would like to see council take initiative and frontend the infrastructure costs for the servicing of the future Employment Lands in order to make the site more attractive to businesses.
“Somebody has to step out of the box on this stuff,” he said. “If we don’t we’re just going to stay the way we are and be a bedroom community.”
During a special meeting on Monday, chief community development officer Gilles Prefontaine told council that the city was still three years away from servicing the area with road networks, as well as utilities such as water, wastewater and sewage systems.
The non-residential tax split options will be brought back to a committee of the whole workshop in January for discussion.
