Article content

Relief is coming for thousands of business owners across Calgary after city council approved a $45-million subsidy program that will limit non-residential municipal tax increases to a maximum of five per cent.

The one-year “Municipal Non-Residential Phased Tax Program” approved Monday comes as many suburban business owners were bracing for major property tax hikes amid an ongoing economic downturn that’s spurred a $4 billion drop in the assessed value of downtown offices.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Calgary's $45M cap on small-business tax a 'Band-Aid on a mortal wound,' says councillor Back to video

The glut of empty office towers in the city’s core has caused a redistribution of 2017 non-residential property taxes meaning building owners, and in turn business owners, outside the core were going to be slapped with hefty increases to make up for the lower property assessments downtown.

But, the new phased tax program means non-residential property owners will now be automatically capped at a maximum non-residential property tax increase of five per cent for 2017 when tax bills are mailed out in May.