The drive to have small business owners pay a lower multiple of property tax compared with home owners is succeeding, according to Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) data released June 25.
The CFIB’s 2013 Property Tax Gap report revealed that small business owners paid an average of 2.7 times as much property tax as home owners did in 2012. That’s down from a multiple of 2.78 times in 2011 and it is the fourth consecutive year that the gap has narrowed, following decades of increasing.
The municipalities that charge businesses the highest multiple of property tax compared with home owners are:
- North Saanich (5.6 times);
- Coquitlam (4.66 times); and
- Revelstoke (4.52 times).
“There is a clear trend emerging and we would like to give credit to those B.C. mayors and councillors who have set a great example for their colleagues by making tax fairness a priority,” said CFIB director of provincial affairs Mike Klassen.
Of B.C.’s largest 10 municipalities, six have managed to narrow their property tax disparities since 2011.
