Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay Random
At present, those taxes are nonexistent. They aren't going into the general tax pool because there is no development in the area to tax. Given that the land has been sitting there undeveloped for close to 50 years, it's difficult to see that changing on its own.
It would be easy to exaggerate the surplus revenues that will be generated by West Village development – i.e., after paying for municipal services to the area. That's why I consider the CRL rather hinky, and hope the city will negotiate that $240m figure downwards as much as possible short of cancelling the project. But those revenues will certainly be greater than zero, and with the present usage of the land, those revenues are zero for the foreseeable future.
|
Unless people are going to move to Calgary for the new stadium, the CRL is 100% a subsidy because...office space or condos being built on the west end would have simply be built elsewhere in the city instead. Elsewhere in the city, those taxes they pay would go into munciple funds
Example without new facilities: bob wants to buy a condo and buys in victoria park. He pay a $1000 property tax which goes to a municipal fund. City gets $1000 per year
Example with new facilities: Bob was going to buy a condo in victoria park but instead buys into the Flames condo on the west end. He pays $1000 in taxes to the CRL. That $1000 goes to pay off the loan used to pay for the arena. The city does not get $1000 per year.
Now...and heres the kicker. The city still needs to provide services to Bob and his kids, but their tax base per capita is lower. So everyone elses property taxes rise to make up the funding shortfall.
Call it what you want. Its a subsidy.