Business owner Johanna Galipeau has one bill that always shocks her. “My tax rate is higher than my monthly mortgage,” she said. Galipeau owns Sweet Pea Boutique, a women’s clothing store on Queen Street in Halifax. She, like many others, is dealing with a commercial tax rate that is consistently increasing. “Since I bought this, it’s been going up every year, and I haven’t really done any improvements. Some studies around here have shown that similar buildings have gone down, so keeping it consistent and maybe even it out a little bit,” she says. “We have a very small space here with a very small sidewalk space and my commercial tax rate is huge.” A study by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) shows commercial tax rates across the region are significantly higher than residential rates for similar properties. “What we find is that for comparable property size, say a small little building, a commercial rate, commercial taxes is up to 146 per cent higher than the equivalent residential rate in Nova Scotia,” says Frederic Gionet, CFIB Atlantic director. The average premium is 142 per cent in Prince Edward Island and 67 per cent in New Brunswick. The CFIB is calling on municipal governments to give business owners a break. “It highlights the fact that municipalities are more and more dependent on commercial property taxes, regardless of if these commercial properties are using services. Typically, they use a lot less services than the residential base,” Gionet says. Sue Uteck, director of the Spring Garden Area Business Association, would like to see something closer to a 50/50 split for the tax rates. She believes the current rate disparity is unmanageable for many who run a business. “It’s a decision between less hours operating, I can’t expand, I can’t add a new line of product, I’m going to have to lay employees off or I’m going to have to pack up,” says Uteck. Gionet says 20 per cent of those questioned have delayed expansions of their business.
