The idea of taxing machinery and equipment for large industries as part of the property tax assessment isn’t sitting well with one group.
The Coalition of New Brunswick Employers sees it as leading to less, not more investment in the province.
Chair Ron Marcolin tells us he knows the Port City is having issues but, taxing larger employers is not the way to fix the problems.
“Saint John and other municipalities are under stress in New Brunswick and elsewhere in the country but this specific way to fix this problem is not the way to go about it, we do believe that industry in Saint John does pay its fair share” stated Marcolin,
He says large industry is already being targeted in a number of ways and this would not help and could lead to job losses, not job creation.
Marcolin says ” There is a wide variety of taxes, regulatory burdens, we have increased workers compensation premiums. We have aggressive market protectionism from other states, counties and provinces that are trying to get business.”
Saint John Harbour MLA Gerry Lowe, a former councillor, introduced Bill 9 in the Legislature earlier this week calling for such a move, and Lowe says he has plenty of support for it. Fair taxation has been a pet peeve of Saint John Common Council for a long time.