Five-year tax plan for New Afton annexation proposed
NEWS/ CITY HALL — A taxation strategy for the City’s proposed annexation of the New Afton Mine would spread the pain over five years and end with a reduced major-industry tax rate of $55 per $1,000 of assessed value, a drop of 29 per cent.
(New Gold photo)
The plan will be put in front of Kamloops City council at its weekly meeting Tuesday and would include an annual $265,000 payment to the Thompson-Nicola Regional District as compensation for lost tax revenues, as well as undetermined compensation for First Nations Bands.
Over the five years, New Gold’s tax share for its New Afton property would gradually increase, while the tax burden for Domtar, Lafarge, Tolko and Arclin would decrease.
Initially, the mine would pay $20.51 per $1,000, bringing $689,000 in revenue to the city, while other heavy industries would pay $70.74. By the end of the fifth year, New Gold would be paying about $2.3 million annually.
The total tax hit for the five heavy industries would be just under $7 million after five years.
After consultation is completed, the City will submit a boundary extension proposal to the provincial government.
“If the boundary extension is approved by the province, the City will lessen its dependence on the current major industry taxpayers and reduce the tax rate for major industry without ipacting other tax rate classes,” a staff report says.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I still am not understanding this process. If the city has to pay the regional district to make up their lost taxes, then where is the benefit to expanding the boundaries ? How will the city make up that cost, or will it all be a net loss to the taxpayers ?
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The benefit is really to lessen the burden on the other heavy industries in the city, rather than increase our civic taxes in order to do so. I don’t think this was ever billed as a cash cow for the city, but as a way to keep business taxes competitive with the rest of the province rather than shifting that burden to the tax payer.
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