The Quinte West Chamber of Commerce is asking Quinte West council for more focus and information when it comes to local taxes levied against commercial businesses in the city.
Manager of the Chamber Suzanne Andrews said members are worried council isn’t providing enough information about tax increases for the commercial sector in its tax bills.
Business is also worried about high annual increases. The average increase in the commercial category last year was 6.92%. Meanwhile owners of single family homes saw their local taxes go up by only 2.87%.
“Please think about flexibility in tax ratios to make sure commercial businesses aren’t seeing regular 7% tax increases. The commercial sector is paying more than its fair share of taxes. On $100,000 of assessment a commercial business pays a little over $3,000 in taxes. For a homeowner it’s just a little over $1,000”, said Andrews.
The Chamber also hopes more details on taxes will be inserted in Quinte West’s tax bills and online. Director of Corporate and Financial Services David Clazie said staff would work with the Chamber to provide more information in a timely manner in future.
