Looming tax increases pose a challenge for Surrey businesses

Business owners in Surrey, B.C., say they're anxiously waiting to find out how they'll be affected by tax increases this year.

Homeowners in Surrey were recently told to expect a 16.5 per cent property tax increase under the city's proposed five-year budget.

"The large businesses are panicking," said Scott Wheatley, executive director of the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, on CBC Radio's The Early Edition Thursday, adding there's been an increase in vandalism and break-and-enters, along with public transit system issues.

Wheatley said a local franchise owner he spoke with saw his property taxes increase "over 40 per cent" last year, and that business owners large and small are now dreading the new costs they could face.

The city's 2023-2027 draft operating budget proposes a general property tax increase of 9.5 per cent to account for a shortfall of $116.6 million created by the city's transition away from the RCMP.

Another seven per cent increase would account for general inflationary pressures for city-wide operations, and the hiring of new first responders and bylaw officers.

A slew of challenges facing businesses

Wheatley said steeper taxes would really hurt businesses in his area that also have to pay increasing Metro Vancouver levies, transit costs, and school taxes.

"It's tough for a lot of businesses to stay above and prosper," he said, adding that city permits have historically been delayed, and recently resulted in a local brewery moving to Langley.

Compounding that, he said smaller businesses are facing higher labour and rental costs, as storefront prices in Cloverdale have increased due to rising property values, and those businesses that have triple-net leases are paying more in taxes on behalf of their property-owners.

Wheatley added there is a lot of trepidation over policing in the city, but there is a need for more officers given a "huge increase" in vandalism and break-and-enters to businesses, which many owners have to pay for.

He voiced concerns with public transit, stating that it's "designed to take people to Vancouver" and there could be easier connections to smaller, scenic areas like Cloverdale.

"I have to either [travel] to White Rock or Langley to catch a bus to …my job. That kind of thing hurts business," he explained.

The Surrey Board of Trade's president Anita Huberman told CBC there is concern that businesses will face even greater costs, stating the business community "always bears the greatest burden of taxation."

Huberman said businesses and manufacturers, mainly in Surrey, have faced as high as a 150-per-cent tax increase yearly in the past three years, and that the proposed draft comes at a time when businesses face inflationary pressures, labour shortages, and other challenges.

Huberman also said the money spent during the transition of police forces was a waste, claiming there's "no evidence that a new police force would reduce crime."