Fog Blog NB Industry Property Tax Log:

MLA GERRY LOWE SPOKE ABOUT MAKING AN AMENDMENT TO PROPERTY TAX AND INTRODUCING A BILL THAT WOULD SEE HEAVY INDUSTRY PAY MUCH HIGHER TAXES SO THAT RESIDENTS GET A BREAK FROM A HIGHER TAX RATE....THIS WOULD ALSO BE BASED ON HEAVY EQUIPMENT OWNED BY INDUSTRY. IT'S POSSIBLE THAT EVEN MOM AND POP BUSINESSES COULD BE HIT BY IT BUT HERE IS THE RUNDOWN......Liberal MLA Gerry Lowe has introduced a bill that would make industry pay higher property taxes, so that residents — people of Saint John in particular — might pay less.His proposed amendment to the Assessment Act would repeal property-tax exemptions allowed for heavy machinery and equipment. The exemptions have hamstrung the City of Saint John financially for years, the city has said.Saint John has the highest municipal tax rate in the province, at $1.785 per $100 of assessed value, but Lowe, a former councillor in the industrial city, said the legislation would "level the playing field.""It's ridiculous what's going on," he told reporters Wednesday at the New Brunswick Legislature. "It hasn't been talked about for years and years, and everybody's ducked it for years, both governments."If industry paid more property tax, the Saint John Harbour MLA believes, the city would have more revenue and could lower residential rates.