By Gagandeep Ghuman
Published: May 8 , 2018
The local Ford dealership and developers of residential and commercial projects in downtown and the business park are among those who benefited from a tax incentive program that gave developers the ability to seek tax holiday for a five-year period.
The program ran for three years and was discontinued in 2016, although those who applied that year would be eligible for exemptions until 2021.
Coastal Ford in the business park has received tax exemption of close to $50,000 since they applied in 2015, and their exemption continues for another two years.
2017 $17,576.42
2016 $24,374.16
2015 $11,723.17
(Coastal Ford tax breaks)
Mireau Property development, the company behind the residential development on Loggers Lane, received a tax break of $67, 096, and will received similar tax breaks for the next four years.
Similarly, a new commercial development on Queens Way in Business Park received $26, 569, and will continue to receive these exemptions for the next four years. The property is now a strata and has multiple owners.
The Sea to Sky Business Park, a commercial project by Solterra, also received little over $43,000 in tax exemptions, which will continue for the next three years.
2017 $28,967.31
2016 $15,013.69
(Sea to Sky Business park tax breaks)
The Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw was adopted in December 2013 at a time when the Squamish economy was stagnant with little development growth, and had been stagnant for the last five or six years, said district spokesperson Christina Moore.
She said the council of the day introduced the bylaw as a tool to help stimulate job creation opportunities through incentivizing growth in the business park and energizing downtown.
The incentive program provides property tax exemptions and façade improvement grants targeting commercial and mixed-use developments in Downtown and industrial development in the Business Park.
The downtown and business park tax exemption program may have come to an end but the council decided to continue the tax breaks for the Oceanfront development.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman and Councillors Doug Race, Karen Elliott, and Peter Kent voted in favour of continuing the tax breaks for the SODC developer while Councillor Susan Chapelle voted against the proposal.
Dave Colwell says
Why is this happening when personal homeowners tax is going up all the time??? USE THE TAX base..Tax the profiteers, especially those who are not providing multiple jobs for our citizens. Someone tell me I am wrong on this with some clarity.
TCee says
Thanks Squamish Reporter for looking into this and letting us, the average tax-paying public, know. Dave Colwell is correct and right. Maybe sometime the Reporter could also look into what the cost of perks and the non-stop hiring of consultants also cost the average taxpayer.
This Council has been an absolute disaster for the average Squamish tax-payer, but not the developers or the likes of Ford Co., Wood Fibre, Solterra, etc., etc. If you are a developer or a large corporation such as the Oceanfront development, this Council can’t resist giving it not only a tax-break but an on-going, multi-year tax subsidy. Keep an eye on what they have promised to the Wood Fibre LNG fiasco, and for how long. Under this Council, in the last 4 years of their reign, they have increased the average homeowners tax by an average of 5% per year or 20%+. Meanwhile Other municipalities, whether Vancouver or Whistler inter alia, have managed to keep their property tax increases to under the cost of living index, or at least half of what the average Squamishian has to fork out for ever declining services in this town. No wonder some of the most dedicated locals have moved on and out of Squamish. The cost of living here has been exacerbated by this Council’s exorbitant spending and tax subsidies. But this Council seems to be blind and deaf to what people are coping with, and their hardships, due to the always increasing taxes and reduced services. Keep in mind, November is not far away, at which time perhaps we shall see a much needed change of leadership in this “burg”.
ted prior says
you did not do a break down on SODC and mention that Ted prior we kicked out of the room because of his land holdings and conflict.. you want to see a tax break with 6 figures over 10 years
Michael Lyons says
Well given the make up of the Council who said yes, I wonder if they would have given WLNG the same benefit? Ha! Not likely. There we go folks ….say good bye to our little friends…..