A report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses says Lloydminster has been diligent in municipal spending but ranks in the middle when it comes to commercial property tax fairness.
The report by CFIB measured the 17 largest municipalities spending compared to their population growth. They ranked Lloydminster 2nd overall and says the City’s real spending per capita decreased by 15.7 per cent over the last decade, while the population grew over 80 per cent.
Only Chocrane was ahead of keeping their spending in line with population growth, according to the report. 15 of the 17 communities in the report decreased their spending as well.
The report also looked at the property taxes that businesses pay, compared to their assessed property value. The CFIB says a score of 1.0, which would mean an even amount between this, is rare, but further from it means more unfavourable rates for businesses.
Lloydminster ranked 7th in this regard, with a ranking of 1.54 per cent. It was also noted that this ratio has decreased over the last ten years by about 2.3 per cent out of businesses favour, the CFIB says, with businesses making up 27.5 per cent of the property assessment share and paying 47.4 per cent of the property taxes.
Keyli Kosiorek, CFIB senior policy analyst says there were reductions to property taxes and spending over the pandemic, and they hope to see municipalities continue this trend as businesses continue to recover post-pandemic.
It’s something they say they will continue to see as a priority as Alberta heads into municipal elections in October.
People can read the full report on the CFIB website.Â