Some small business owners in Calgary say they’re grappling with rising property taxes that are threatening their livelihoods, and are joining forces to see if they can stop the increases.
“If we have to shut things down or sell it, that’s going to hurt the community, its going to trickle down all the way, there’s just no accountability of where these increases come from and I think it’s really simple to throw it on business owners, people who are busy like me,” Cult Collective co-founder, Ryan Gill, said.
Despite a recent shift of some of the tax burden from business owners to homeowners, Gill argues commercial property owners still pay significantly higher rates.
“No, It’s not steep. It’s robbery,” he said.
He claims his property taxes have tripled since buying the building in Inglewood seven years ago, and there isn’t much to show for it.
“It’s gone up 200-and-something per cent and when you look around, it hasn’t gotten 200 per cent better,” Gill explained. “We barely have our walks shoveled, there’s potholes everywhere, there’s stuff falling apart.”
In response, Gill and other small business owners have begun discussing what options, if any, they have, to stop the increase. Gill says he’s even looking at getting legal help to fight the bump in taxes and is rallying a team behind him.
“There’s a big coalition of business owners and there’s people that care to stop this and make some noise, so we wont stop until it changes,” he said. “That’s my promise.”
CityNews reached out to The City of Calgary about the potential legal action. In statement the city says they wouldn’t have any comment until they file their case.
Ward 9 Coun. Gian Carlo Carra is urging property owners to reach of to the city’s tax assessment office or file a complaint with the assessment review board if they have issues with their property tax rate.
“I encourage everyone to use the much less costly and generally more effective measures described above,” he said in a statement to CityNews. “I also encourage Ward 9 businesses to contact me, their councillor, so I can better understand the challenges they’re facing, connect them, with resources, and better advocate for their needs.”
Carra says the median non-residential assessment change in Inglewood hasn’t seen a significant increase and the estimated municipal tax change in the area is 0.5 per cent higher than the city’s average.