With the dawn of the new year comes another skirmish in the B.C. tax revolt. The City of Port Alberni is takin…
With the dawn of the new year comes another skirmish in the B.C. tax revolt. The City of Port Alberni is taking court action against Catalyst Paper to force the company to pay its municipal taxes. Catalyst withheld its taxes in 2009, and challenged Port Alberni and three other municipalities in court last year, claiming their tax rates were unjust. The B.C. Supreme Court ruled in all four cases in favor of the cities.
Catalyst is reported to be appealing the decisions, but in the meantime, interest is accumulating on the unpaid balances, and Port Alberni has gone one step further, suing Catalyst for unpaid taxes, The Daily News of Nanaimo, B.C. reported January 7.
The City of Port Alberni is suing Catalyst Paper to collect $3.3 million in back taxes plus 20% in late penalties, according to the newspaper.
Mayor Ken McRae said he’s not optimistic the money will be recovered soon, but the lawsuit is part of the collection process. “It’s a reminder to them that they’ve broken the law and that we want them to pay up,” he said.
In response, Lyn Brown, Catalyst Paper’s vice-president of corporate responsibility, told
Alberniportal.ca, “I appreciate that the City needs to take action it deems necessary just as we have done.”
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