MOOSE JAW — City council updated its tax phase-in policy during the May 27 regular meeting to include tax breaks for distillery-like businesses and companies that create more than 60 jobs.
The City of Moose Jaw has two existing but separate tax phase-in policy exemptions, with one that council approved as a bylaw called the commercial and industrial tax phase-in policy and the second that council approved as a policy known as the tax phase-in policy, a council report said.
City administration wanted to update the main policy to include one motion that council approved in 2023 — but that was never added — and another motion that council approved in 2022, which is listed in the commercial and industrial tax phase-in policy but that administration wants to add to the main policy since it is better suited there.
In 2022, when council reviewed the policy, no accommodation was made to include the motion about distilleries, the report continued.
That motion said, “A three-year, 100-per-cent tax exemption option for (a) distillery or like businesses that do not generate income over the first years of operation or are faced with unusually high start-up costs.”
Instead, the motion was left under the commercial and industrial tax phase-in bylaw. However, city administration has now added it to the proposed policy and removed it from the bylaw, the report said. Meanwhile, in 2023, council amended the tax phase-in policy to include a clause about job creation.
The clause says that any business that creates over 60 jobs will receive an incentive for a full five years, with a 100-per-cent tax reduction, including existing current taxes (no arrears) that’s one-time only, while further expansion and job creation incentives provided will be the greater of the tax phase-in applied to the increased assessment of 50 per cent of the total tax bill.
Those new jobs must be defined as full-time — 40 hours per week — or full-time equivalent.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, June 10.
