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Ontario entrepreneur Farhan Abbas decided to look west a couple years ago and set up a string of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurants in Calgary.

The recession made for a rough-and-tumble business environment. But the chief executive of PLK Holding Inc. wanted to capitalize on lower construction costs and create a beachhead in the city.

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He has since opened eight outlets in the area, creating about 300 jobs.

Abbas has even bigger expansion plans, but high property taxes in Calgary — including more than $113,000 annually for just one location along 17th Avenue S.W. — has him wondering what’s in store next.

“It is literally $10,000 a month. It’s unimaginable. A single place, selling fried chicken, has to pay $10,000 in property taxes?” he said in an interview.

“They are going to drive me out of the city and eventually that’s going to hurt the city.”

Homeowners and businesses across Calgary are now receiving annual property assessment notices, providing a market value that’s used to calculate municipal property taxes.