Comment 111408

By CharlesBall (registered) | Posted May 05, 2015 at 09:13:51

One of the big problems is taxation that is largely out of the hands if civic politicians. I had an accountant cousin who was partly responsible for the the demolition agenda of the 80's. He and his group strongly recommended to building owners that they tear down buildings to reduce tax exposure. They didn't do it specifically for parking lots, parking lots were just an easy way to make some money on the vacant land.

When buildings like the former Robinson's and the Royal bank become antiquated and undesirable as commercial tenancies, something has to be done with them. Instead of giving the owners tax breaks while they decide what to do with them as they sit empty, we continue to tax them at the full rate essentially forcing them to tear them down or give them up.

If I understand it correctly, the Provincial government controls those rules. The City can control demolition permits to a degree, but in some cities were that has been tried it has led to abandonment which can be a worse problem.

Everything has a shelf life and things are either significantly repaired and upgraded or torn down. One of the first rules of taxation is that something has to make business sense before it makes tax sense.

One solution might be to grant a tax "holiday" of several years while a vacant building is either marketed or restored. That would prevent the building from being torn down and turned into a parking lot.

No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be? George Orwell

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