Mayor gets meeting with premier over speculation tax

Future tax hikes could be higher than planned in West Kelowna as a result of the provincial speculation tax, council heard this week.

Growth projections for the next decade have already been lowered and are likely to be revised downward again, city manager Jim Zaffino says.

“I can see the growth rate going down to less than one per cent now,” Zaffino told council on Tuesday.

That would significantly reduce new taxation revenue for the municipality, leaving council with some hard choices, he said.

“Council will have to decide between increasing taxes, reducing reserves or reducing services,” Zaffino said.

Several developers have indicated they’re rethinking planned housing projects in West Kelowna in light of the speculation tax, council heard.

It will apply, at the rate of one per cent of assessed property values, on homes owned by Canadians who live outside B.C. and which are left vacant for at least six months of the year.

“This is not a speculation tax. It’s a money grab,” Coun. Duane Ophus said. “The provincial government is grabbing money through taxes on real estate, which has generally been the purview of municipalities.

“So they’re not only going to cause a significant economic downturn, but they’re also grabbing our revenue,” Ophus said.

West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater tried unsuccessfully in March to meet Premier John Horgan to appeal for the city to be dropped from the communities in which the speculation tax will apply.

As a 10-year-old municipality, West Kelowna relies on new development much more than other communities to finance operations, municipal officials say.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Findlater said he and city administrator Jim Zaffino decided last week to confront Horgan directly during the premier’s trip to the South Okanagan.

“There was a meet-and-greet put on by the NDP in Penticton that we invited ourselves to,” Findlater said.

During that brief conversation, Findlater said the premier did finally agree to meet with him and Zaffino in a more formal setting to discuss the speculation tax and West Kelowna’s plea to be exempted from the measure.

“He made a commitment to do so,” Findlater said. “So it was certainly worth the price of gas for us to get to Penticton.”