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Wednesday, December 5, 2012
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Business owners upset by tax bills City of Coquitlam says it cannot adjust final taxation numbers set by BC Assessment John Kurucz jkurucz@thenownews.com
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or the second time in less than two years, a series of Coquitlam-based business owners are crying foul over what they feel are exorbitant and unjustified tax increases. And much like how the issue played out in the summer of 2011, all of the parties involved are point“I know what the ing the finger at somebody else. existing rules and The latest tax legislation are and it’s problem came to a wrong. It’s inequitable. head at Monday’s council in comIt’s not sustainable.” mittee meeting, when a southwest Coquitlam business Cynthia Aasen owner claimed her Coquitlam Business Owner taxes have shot up by 70 per cent over one year. Cynthia Aasen and her husband John head up the golf instruction business known as the 3D Golf Performance Centre, which is located in a complex at 228 Schoolhouse St. In her presentation Monday, Aasen claimed she was speaking on behalf of about a half dozen other businesses also located in her complex — fast-food chains, a spa and a home appliance shop, among others. According to Aasen, her business was charged about $14,000 in property taxes in 2011, compared to the $24,333 bill she received for this year. “This, to me, is horrific,” she said. “It’s got to stop. I know what the existing rules and legislation are and it’s wrong. It’s inequitable. It’s not sustainable.” In making her case, Aasen noted property taxes account for her shop’s third-largest expense after rent and labour. And in an interview Tuesday, Aasen said she will likely move her business to another community once her lease expires if the issue doesn’t get rectified. “I don’t see how this is realistic for any community to justify,” she said. Aasen’s presentation was met with little oppos-
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Cynthia Aasen says high property taxes in Coquitlam may force her to relocate her business. ition or disagreement among those on council, who pointed the finger at the province and towards BC Assessment. “I’ve always said that this is a ridiculous situation, where the only form of income that cities have is based on the valuation of commercial and residential property,” said Mayor Richard Stewart. “It needs to be fixed. This council has said it repeatedly.” Finance department staffer Gary Jackson explained there’s little, if anything, the city can do to allay Aasen’s situation. “We can’t adjust individual taxes,” he said. “The way we do the assessment is we average it out and there are going to be some properties that have spikes. But council does not have the ability to make any adjustments.” Zina Weston, deputy assessor for the North Fraser region of B. Assessment, explained property assess-
ments are based on age, size, location, features of the property and land. From there, the assessment authority determines what the market would pay for that land based on recent trends. She noted some of the recent revitalization in the area — work on the Port Mann Bridge and King Edward Overpass — likely played into that increased assessment. “One of the terms we tend to use for changes in the area might be something like revitalization — so access, profile, and especially for commercial properties, what draws the public to the area and makes it all accessible [factor into the increase],” she said. Monday’s debate played out in a decidedly similar fashion to what took place in the Town Centre area in the summer of 2011. At that time, about six businesses complained of a “property tax tsunami” that saw increases in the range of 30 to 50 per cent in the area.
Coquitlam hit by rash of auto break-ins Jeremy Deutsch jdeutsch@thenownews.com
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They come looking for money, electronics and in some cases something as simple as a box of tissues — anything thieves can get their hands on. In the last week, Coquitlam Mounties have been dealing with a rash of thefts from vehicles across both Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. In just one shift last Friday
(Nov. 30), police handled more than 25 reported vehicle break-ins. RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung said investigators aren’t sure why there’s been a sudden spike in theft from vehicles, but suggested it could be the work of a couple crooks recently released from jail. “It seems so senseless to smash people’s windows and look inside to see if they have anything valuable,” he said. “Sometimes they find nothing.” Though on some occasions
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the thieves have made off with very little, that’s not always the case. Chung noted some of the items stolen include expensive sports equipment, GPS systems, wallets and, in one instance, $100 in cash. The recent incidents have Mounties reminding the driving public to keep valuables out of sight — and if they’re too important to lose — out of the car completely. People are also being told to park in well-lit areas to make it less attractive for
thieves to target a vehicle. And the RCMP is urging people to call the police if they spot suspicious activity in their neighbourhood. The sudden increase in thefts appears to fly in the face of recent trends that show a major decrease in both the number of stolen vehicles and theft from autos. According to recent statistics released by ICBC, the number of theft-of-vehicle incidents in Coquitlam dropped by 85 per cent going back to 2003.
And officials noted the drop in auto thefts has coincided with a similar drop in theftfrom-vehicle reports. There were 70 cars stolen in the city in the first six months of this year, compared to 478 in 2003. The number of car thefts in PoCo has dropped 82 per cent since 2003, to 35 in the first half of 2012 from 191 in 2003. ICBC officials credited the bait car program and technology in new cars that make them harder to steal for the decrease in thefts.
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