Saturday » June 27 » 2009 Property tax upheaval hitting Island Les Leyne Times Colonist Saturday, June 27, 2009 Vancouver Island needs some kind of new deal. The economy is being transformed before our eyes, but the property tax system that links economic activity to social well-being is left over from another age. For years the Island has been evolving relatively slowly. It's been growing away from the withering forest industry and toward the steady pension and service economy. The transition seems to be speeding up and some new friction is developing. It started when some of the forest companies recognized that the logging and milling mainstays of the 20th century are now over. Real estate development is where the profit is. Western Forest Products' chaotic attempts to start developing part of its thousands of hectares of holdings are an example of the friction. The government freed the firm of tree farm licence requirements on its private land two years ago. That allowed WFP to sell some property to reduce its debt load. The resulting development plans have created all kinds of controversy. In Campbell River, there's another example of a forest company trying to turn a buck in the real estate business. Timberwest went public in a big way at the start of this year with an announcement that it was creating a real estate arm to maximize profit from its extensive land holdings on the Island. It partnered with high-profile Vancouver condominium salesman Bob Rennie to create Couverdon, its real estate venture. The deal looked a little sketchy at first glance. What could the self-styled downtown "Condo King" know about community development on Vancouver Island? But there were a lot of reassuring words in the announcement about learning what people want, sensible planning and ending the "hit and run" approach to subdividing. A court petition filed earlier this month, however, shows not everyone was reassured by the prospect of a timber company selling real estate under a different name. Timberwest asked the court to overturn the city of Campbell River's tax plan for the coming year. The case illustrates how tricky this transformation will be. And combined with another tax dispute heading to the courts, it shows how expensive the slow fade of the forest industry is going to be. Timberwest has owned a substantial chunk of land within Campbell River's boundaries for years. It was designated as managed forest land. When the company announced its new focus on maximizing real estate values, the change didn't escape Campbell River's attention. Although Timberwest has only announced plans to subdivide 65 hectares of the 3,000 hectares it owns in the municipality, the city now views all the holdings as development property, based on the company's pronouncements. So it set a new, higher tax rate to reflect the potential developed value of the land. Timberwest's municipal tax bill went from $75,000 last year to $1.3 million this year. That's what brought the lawsuit. It arrived the same week that Catalyst Paper filed four other petitions in B.C. Supreme Court. They also illustrate the seismic shift on the Island. The flagging company is suing three Island municipalities -- Campbell River, Port Alberni and North Cowichan -- and Powell River over the taxes on its pulp and paper mills in those towns. The mills were built after the war and were welcomed as major employers paying top wages. But gradually the jobs were taken for granted and the mills became known as polluting eyesores. So an unwritten understanding emerged. The big industrial monoliths were penalized for the big downsides they created by huge tax bills that increased over the years until the rate was 10 to 20 times higher than residents and small businesses pay. Residents vote. Mills don't. The deal lasted as long as the companies thrived. But they don't anymore and their losses are now more than just a cyclical downturn. Some kind of new convention has to be drawn up to reflect the new realities on the Island. Forest companies will always be the target of first opportunity and deservedly so. But they're a smaller and smaller target. Politicians might come up with one, or a judge may dictate it. Wherever it comes from, it's hard to picture a new arrangement that doesn't mean higher taxes for most residents and businesses. lleyne@tc.canwest.com © Times Colonist (Victoria) 2009 Copyright © 2009 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved. CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest MediaWorks Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved.
Property tax upheaval hitting Island (Bob Rennie)
Blog by Ian Watt | June 27th, 2009
Archives
- March 2024
- February 2024
- November 2023
- October 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- May 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- December 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- August 2005
Categories
- Coal Harbour Vancouver Condos For Sale
- General
- Ian Watt - Vancouver Real Estate Video Blog by Ian Watt - Condos
- Ian Watt - Vancouver Real Estate Video Blog by Ian Watt - Condos & Penthouses
- Ian Watt Mayne Island Real Estate Statistics
- Ian Watt Motivational Quote of the Day www.NinePointTen.com
- Ian Watt's Quick Thoughts on Real Estate Blog
- Ian Watt's Vancouver Condo Video Blog
- Listings
- Multi-Million Dollar Vancouver Luxury Homes for Sale
- News Releases
- Real Estate Video Blog by Ian Watt in Vancouver - Condos & Penth
- Vancouver Condo Real Estate Photos by Ian Watt
- Vancouver Real Estate Statistics Yaletown Downtown and Coal Harbour
- Vancouver Real Estate Video Blog by Ian Watt - Condos & Penthous
- Yaletown Coal Harbour & Downtown Condominium Penthouse News and
- Yaletown Downtown Vancouver Real Estate MLS for Sale Blog by Ian
- Yaletown Vancouver Condos For Sale by Ian Watt