Tax gap widens
A new report by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business details the gap between business and residential property taxes over the past decade in 161 BC municipalities.
The report shows the tax gap, meaning the ratio of business taxes to that of residential taxes, has grown in BC over the past 10 years from 2.54 in 2004, to 2.61 in 2014. The gap peaked in 2009 when it hit 2.90.
Powell River is in the wider half of the tax gap. Local businesses pay a ratio of 2.71 in municipal taxes compared to residents. The average annual municipal tax for a Powell River business is $4,504, while the average resident pays $1,664.
Powell River’s business-to-residential tax ratio ranks 102 out of the 161 municipalities included in the report.
All candidates streams
Those who cannot attend the federal election All Candidates Meeting for North Island-Powell River riding on Monday, October 5 at Evergreen Theatre can live stream the meeting via TV THAT.
The meeting, presented by Powell River Chamber of Commerce, starts at 7 pm and will be streaming from tvpowellriver.com.
Texada residents can watch the live stream at the Legion in Van Anda. Viewers may also watch the meeting on handheld devices.
Setting it straight
In last issue’s Council Briefs, the Peak reported that city councillors had passed six permissive tax exemption bylaws, when in fact they had only given them three readings and will vote on them at a future council meeting.
