ThereB次元官网网址檚 a possibility NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 business community could get some financial relief in the form of a commercial property tax freeze.
The proposal was put to council by Kim Smythe, Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce CEO, in a presentation he made at a finance and audit committee meeting Feb. 17.
Smythe said NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 business community has faced a myriad of negative impacts over the course of the pandemic.
B次元官网网址淏eginning with a voluntary three-month closure in March 2020, followed by a slow return to local shopping, reductions in local consumer demand, increasing competition from a global online marketplace, continuing restrictions on food and beverage purveyors and an uncertain environment for 2021, our local businesses deserve all the help they can get,B次元官网网址� Smythe said, reading from a proposal letter written to council.
According to a provincewide business survey conducted by the B.C. Chamber of Commerce, NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 business operators are among the provinceB次元官网网址檚 most pessimistic about their economic futures.
B次元官网网址淒ecemberB次元官网网址檚 report indicated that on Vancouver Island we have the lowest level of business optimism in the province, with 46 per cent of the businesses categorizing themselves as in poor or very poor shape,B次元官网网址� Smythe said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 almost half of all businesses who have a dismal outlook on their future here. When asked if they were pessimistic or optimistic about the next six months, 36 per cent said they were pessimistic or very pessimistic.B次元官网网址�
The local chamber, Smythe said, is proposing that city council ask city staff to prepare a report with analysis of the impact of freezing tax increases on commercial rate payers for one year to help NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 business community B次元官网网址渃atch back upB次元官网网址� as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
B次元官网网址淧utting a temporary freeze on commercial rate payers would show support for local business, would help shape the brand of Nanaimo as business-friendly and support new efforts at outreach for economic development,B次元官网网址� Smythe said. B次元官网网址淢ost importantly, it would be a vote of confidence in the business community and perhaps strengthen their resiliency and resolve and encourage them to hold on just a little longer and maybe change that curve on their optimism and pessimism.B次元官网网址�
Coun. Jim Turley motioned that council request city staff to study the potential of maintaining the commercial tax rate at 2020 levels, which was supported by all councillors except one. Coun. Tyler Brown said he did not see the sense in freezing commercial taxes for a single year because B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 completely indiscriminate for whether a business is in need or not in needB次元官网网址� and noted the city doesnB次元官网网址檛 control property assessment values, so even if a reduction were implemented, itB次元官网网址檚 still possible some businesses in need could see their taxes rise based on assessments.
B次元官网网址淚 would be supportive of looking at it, in the long run, as part of our overall taxation scheme, but definitely not as presented and as weB次元官网网址檝e discussed today,B次元官网网址� Brown said.
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Krog said he appreciated the broader questions raised by Brown around taxation and long-term strategies, but said NanaimoB次元官网网址檚 business community is hurting economically now.
B次元官网网址淚 think one of the purposes of the mayorB次元官网网址檚 task force was to look at longer-term strategies. WeB次元官网网址檝e just received an economic development task force report,B次元官网网址� Krog said. B次元官网网址淭here are lots of big questions for us to look at, but right now the business community says, B次元官网网址榃eB次元官网网址檙e hurting and weB次元官网网址檙e hurting a lot and weB次元官网网址檙e asking for you to just do a little study on some relief,B次元官网网址� so I think itB次元官网网址檚 appropriate.B次元官网网址�
The report will be presented to council when it reviews the city budget in March and April.
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