Letter from Catherine Holt, CEO Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce Re: Property Taxes

Re: Sustainable, Fair, and Transparent Property Taxes

Dear Mayor Screech,

On behalf of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and its more than 1,400 member organizations, I would like to understand how the Town of View Royal sets its mill rates and to know whether property owners can expect an overall property tax increase in excess of the inflation rate.

We appreciate the context-setting statistics provided by the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) at the October 2016 presentation to the B.C. Commission on Tax Competitiveness:

• Using 2016 data, the total property tax levy in B.C. totaled $7.3 billion. Of this total, however, just $4.1 billion – or 56 percent – was for municipal taxation. Regional District, transit and some other taxing jurisdictions represent 10 percent. The remaining 34 percent of the 2016 property tax supported provincial services.
• Of the $4.1 billion in municipal property taxes referenced above, 61 percent of this share is levied to residential taxpayers, 37 percent to businesses and 2 percent to other properties.

One of our concerns is the difference - or ratio - between property taxes. For example, in your municipality the 2016 mill rates were:

• School District 61: 5.83094 for residential and 19.25562 for commercial, for a ratio of 1 to 3.3, and
• School District 62: 6.08964 for residential and 19.25562 for commercial, for a ratio of 1 to 3.2.

That means in 2016 that an average Town of View Royal resident would have paid $2,969 in property taxes (before any grants) on a residence valued at $509,200, while a business would have paid $9,805 on a commercial property of the same value. The rationale for this ratio is unclear, and requires more transparency.

The Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce’s position is that taxes should be sustainable, transparent, and fair. Businesses need to understand what affects their bottom line and profit margins. Communities need to recognize and appreciate how businesses contribute to healthy communities. In the end, property taxes affect a business’ competitiveness and a community’s level of attraction to investors and new businesses.

We urge you to do all you can to ensure - at the very least - that any overall property tax increases do not exceed expected inflation and that the ratios between property tax classes do not increase. With our region facing serious challenges such as the rising costs - and decreasing inventories - of housing and inadequate transportation system, we simply do not need any more disincentives to do business in Greater Victoria.

I look forward to gaining a better understanding of property taxes within the Town of View Royal.

Sincerely,

Catherine Holt Chief Executive Officer

Enclosure: Greater Victoria 2016 Residential and Commercial Mill Rates