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Only Richmond businesses offered a break from “hot zone” tax increases

May 30th, 2011 · 12 Comments

The province’s news release last week that Richmond council would get special dispensation to give some of its commercial properties breaks on their taxes caught my eye.

For years, Vancouver businesses have complained that they end up getting whacked by soaring assessments and taxes in particular areas where speculators have started bidding up local land prices or where the zoning bills them for what could be on their land (a condo tower) but isn’t.

And, for years, I’ve heard there was no way to adjust the system to deal with that. But apparently that’s not true. The province has proposed legislation that would let Richmond set up a system to reduce taxes for business properties in the area between the Canada Line and the Richmond Oval, where high sale prices have resulted in regular businesses seeing their taxes so sky high.

I hear that there’s lots of buzz about this in the back corridors, as many are wondering why only Richmond. My Globe story here.

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