Tax break for small businesses flatly rejected by council committee
Arguing that it constituted a tax shift rather than a tax break, city council’s Corporate Services Committee unanimously voted against creating a new property tax class for small businesses.
The province recently gave municipalities the ability to create a new Small Business Tax Class, separate from industrial, agricultural, residential and other commercial classes.
The new classification could be used to reduce the municipal rate on small business tax bills by up to 35 per cent by shifting that tax burden onto the other tax classes.
The city would also be tasked with defining what constitutes a ‘small business.’
London Mayor Ed Holder suggested the proposal wasn’t worth the time already dedicated by staff to analyze the implications and prepare a report.
“I’m just sorry that staff put any time in this,” Holder told the committee. “As much as I and we on council support small business, how ever small business is defined, to do that at the expense of other tax classes for businesses is wrong.”
Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan was equally blunt.
“There is no secret pot of money to support small businesses with,” Morgan told the committee. “All we would end up doing is shifting the tax burden from one group of taxpayers to another.
The committee recommended receiving the report and to take no action.
The report will be in front of city council on August 10.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.