Give business a break
Small businesses in Kamloops have had a tough go the last year and it may be time to give them a break, says one city councillor.
Tina Lange wants the city to consider shifting some of the overall tax burden away from small business and onto the residential payer.
Currently, businesses cover 28 per cent of the city’s tax bill, while residents pay 58 per cent.
Light and heavy industrial cover the rest.
Lange suggested bringing down the amount business pays by .5 per cent for a couple of years, until the economy recovers.
She argued the costs to small business are going through the roof and, by supporting businesses in the city, the whole community benefits.
Though Kamloops sits in the middle of
the pack in the province in terms of the tax ratio, Lange believes being below average would send a message the
city is open for business.
“I don’t think being in the middle is good enough,” she said.
She wants a larger discussion on the issue to take place at some point in a future council meeting.
It’s an idea Mayor Peter Milobar only cautiously supports, calling the issue “complicated.”
He noted there are provincial grants for homeowners and tax reductions for industry, but nothing for businesses.
However, Milobar also suggested a change in the ratio for business could risk a rate shock in other areas.
“Maybe it does need to be looked at, in terms of how do we handle this moving forward,” he said.
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