COMMENT

Could Catalyst be a catalyst for tax revolt?

Will Catalyst become the catalyst for a much wider tax revolt?
Catalyst employees hand delivered $1.5 Million cheques to Port Alberni, North Cowichan, Campbell River and Powell River for their property taxes - a combined $6 Million.
The bill was actually $23 Million. Catalyst made good on their promise. They’ve been asking for tax relief for years, only to receive a relative pittance in promised reductions from North Cowichan, Port Alberni, Campbell River and Powell River.
Council has been reluctance to acquiesce to Catalyst’s demands  - they’ve got a budget to operate and voters to please - but it’s clear they just don’t get it. The forest industry, B.C.’s cash cow for a century, has been experiencing tough times for years. There’s not a lot left to be milked after suppliers and employees have been paid. In many cases, the forest companies have been bleeding red ink for quarter after fiscal quarter, and in order to become viable over the long-term, they need to cut their costs. Now. It’s serious.
A story in the Victoria Times Colonist quotes a Catalyst consultant as stating: “You’ve got a situation where Catalyst shares have been trading between 8 cents and 20 cents a share and municipal property taxes now account for 6 cents a share. People have got to recognize that this is a serious issue.”
Catalyst has also approached the B.C. Supreme Court about unfair municipal tax rates, claiming it pays 35 per cent of the property tax bill in the four cities, yet uses only 6 per cent of the services.
Municipal politicians are expressing outrage at Catalyst, using inflamatory language as they “stand up” for their taxpaying residents and voters.
One might understand politicians posturing on this issue, because it has dire ramifications for homeowners and other sources of tax revenue. Yet it’s indicative of what has become the mindset of many in this province: That business is big, bad, cold and made-to-be-taxed. Perhaps one can understand: For politicians who make these decisions, they become eligible for paycheques when enough residents write their name down on a ballot at election time. And there are a lot more residents than business owners in every community. All they look at, apparently are those numbers.
In B.C., business owners are not allowed to cast votes at election time on behalf of their companies, despite the significant investment they’re making in the communities they serve. Being denied that right, they are also at the mercy of the patrons at city hall, whose job it is spend the money firms earn, then pay tax on.
If Catalyst is successful in their appeal, what next? Will commercial property taxpayers decide to take on local governments through class action suits to challenge tax rates that are far in excess of what homeowners pay? Perhaps. How else can the business community make local governments pay attention?
A friend of mine told me how, during the days of Bob Rae’s reign of error in Ontario, the NDP government was implementing arduous policies that were crippling the economy and punishing business and taxpayers. A small group of people decided to organize a tax revolt, encouraging homeowners to refuse to pay their property taxes. What they were encouraged to do was put their property tax in a savings account, and the interest earned would be enough to pay the penalty for late payment of taxes. Enough people participated to make it effective.
While scoffing at first, the government was forced to pay attention and back up. They simply began to run out of money.
It’ll be most interesting to see how the courts rule in the Catalyst case. If it rules in favor, then watch for more change.