Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain is looking to tackle one of the city’s most pressing financial issues, before leaving his position next week.
Brain, along with every Council member, voted to send a letter to the province in hopes they will scrap the Port Tax Cap, during the out-going mayor’s final meeting.
Introduced in 2004 as a temporary means to inspire port investment, the Port Property Tax Cap Act was made permanent in 2014.
Currently, the cap is set at $27.50 per $1,000 in value on existing facilities, and $22.50 per $1,000 on new investments.
That means that, while ports currently pay about $3.7 million annually in taxes, regular homeowners pay about double that.
Brain, as well as other councillors, say eliminating the tax cap could go a long way towards solving the city’s $600 million infrastructure deficit.
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