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BC firms get riled over rising taxes
Guest Commentary
by Laura Jones
Small businesses across B.C. are worried about property taxes. In Coquitlam, they're so worried that they are taking precious time away from their businesses and families to get a lot more active and vocal - a sure sign things are very, very bad.
Over the past few weeks a Coquitlam business owner has helped organize meetings with more than a dozen other business owners who are all concerned about the impact rising property taxes are having on their firms.
Like most other municipalities in B.C., Coquitlam businesses pay more in taxes than residents for properties of the same value. Businesses use far fewer municipal services than residents, so this "property tax gap" between residents and business owners has no reasonable justification. Candid municipal politicians have confessed that it is a simple matter of politics: business owners don't have nearly as many votes as residents.
In Coquitlam's case, businesses pay a whopping 4.66 times more in property taxes than residents. This is the worst property tax gap in Metro Vancouver and the second worst in the whole province. I commend the Coquitlam mayor and council for making a commitment to reduce this gap and much more needs to be done. Keeping taxes from going up and up and up is what businesses and residents really need.
In order for taxes to remain stable or even go down (as other levels of government understand is possible), spending has to be controlled. Over the past 12 years, if Coquitlam had limited its spending growth to match population and inflation increases, taxpayers could have saved $150 million.
Wages and benefits for city staff make up a good chunk of the excess spending. The overall salary bill in Coquitlam increased from $63.7 million five years ago to $78.2 million last year, a 23-per-cent hike. In 2011, 93 city staff earned over $100,000, double the amount that earned this amount in 2008 when the recession hit.
Council has a great opportunity right now to keep a lid on spending by negotiating a reasonable contract with the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Given the increases they saw in their last contract and the huge (over 30 per cent) premium municipal workers currently enjoy compared to equivalent jobs in the private sector, following the lead of some senior governments and negotiating some years of zero increases seems reasonable.
It's time for municipal leaders to start thinking like taxpayers in all other spending areas, too. Penticton did a serious budget review where every line item was scrutinized. Coquitlam should follow its lead.
Is it crazy for a small group of business owners to think they can fight City Hall and reduce business property taxes? Margaret Mead famously said: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." When small-business owners stand up for positive change, they are a powerful force.
Laura Jones is the executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
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