The Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce is asking the City of Yellowknife to hold off on property tax increases for business owners.

SA国际影视传媒淥ur members remain concerned because more of our communitySA国际影视传媒檚 tax burden has been gradually, but continuously, placed on Yellowknife businesses,SA国际影视传媒� reads a notice from the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce.

Property taxes are determined through the mill rate ratio, which divides levies between residential and commercial property owners. The ratio has changed every five to seven years for general property assessment.

SA国际影视传媒淥ver the past (two decades), weSA国际影视传媒檝e seen the rate increases continually to go up,SA国际影视传媒� Robert Warburton, Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce president, said during his presentation at the citySA国际影视传媒檚 Governance and Priorities Meeting on Monday.

Though the next general assessment for the city wonSA国际影视传媒檛 occur until some point in 2023, the chamber recognized this in its notice by stating that it would like to see the city make a commitment in December regarding mill rate ratios.

SA国际影视传媒淲e urge council to make changes now, whether through a motion of council or a formal budget policy to maintaining mill rate ratios fixed at the previous yearSA国际影视传媒檚 levels,SA国际影视传媒� reads the chamberSA国际影视传媒檚 notice.

SA国际影视传媒淲e just want it to be fair,SA国际影视传媒� said Warburton.

Sharolynn Woodward, the municipalitySA国际影视传媒檚 director of corporate services, cautioned against the recommended December timeframe, however, saying thereSA国际影视传媒檚 SA国际影视传媒渟till a lot thatSA国际影视传媒檚 unknown about our final assessed value.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淓ven though weSA国际影视传媒檙e trying to keep up with everything all throughout the year, once we clear the board of revision, and perhaps the next level, there can be some underlying changes in our assessment base that could maybe counterbalance or negate or somehow change any discussions that were held in December,SA国际影视传媒� Woodward explained.

Councillors Niels Konge and Shauna Morgan voiced varying degrees of support regarding the chamberSA国际影视传媒檚 suggestion.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think youSA国际影视传媒檝e nailed it,SA国际影视传媒� said Konge. SA国际影视传媒淚 think thatSA国际影视传媒檚 really what we need to sort out. This is something that I had questions about, how weSA国际影视传媒檙e dealing with this SA国际影视传媒� I think for the past five years, maybe even more.SA国际影视传媒�

Morgan was more cautiously optimistic.

SA国际影视传媒淲hat I would like to focus on is how do we separate the commercial industrial, like those businesses for whom the shifts would just be a rounding error,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淣ot shifting that rounding error onto residents, for whom it could be a huge shock and make a huge difference.SA国际影视传媒�

The commercial-residential mill rate ratio has held at 1:2.26 since 2019, following input from the 2018 general assessment.

Further recommendations included the chamber asking the city to develop a policy regarding the mill rate ratio and the SA国际影视传媒減hilosophical approach to property tax distribution council would like to adopt.SA国际影视传媒�

The policy would assist council in setting intentions and strategies behind ratios and distribution.