City Council shifts industrial tax rate with hope of stabilizing job force

Mar 14, 2017 | 5:35 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops City Council has passed a policy that it says will lead to more financial certainty to heavy industry in town. 

Council shifted the industrial tax rate on Tuesday, in response to complaints from plants like Domtar and Tolko and others, so the total taxes collected from heavy industry will be capped at $6.2 million.

“Really what we did, we passed a policy today that says the tax rate wouldn’t be above $74 millrate, and also wouldn’t exceed $6.2 million collected out of that rate,” said mayor Peter Milobar. 

“It really helps both Kinder Morgan and Tolko, which are looking at ways to try and reinvest into their plants. The problem is, when they reinvest, it’s a different rate structure than what happens with a home, so they woind up getting punitive taxation possibly for the simple fact of modernization and getting better environmental-type equipment into their operations. We are hoping this will spur some reinvestment into Domtar and Tolko, and really stabilize that job force.”