Task force recommends Campbell River give Catalyst Paper a tax break

Apr 2, 2009 | In Financial News | Send feedback »

Campbell River's Financial Task Force has recommended that the city should give Catalyst Paper a $2 million tax break this year.

The city would pay for that by cutting operations costs by $1 million - including a token five per cent pay cut to the mayor and councillors - and shifting $1 million of the tax burden to residential and other tax classes, but not the business sector.

Catalyst Paper has shut down the Elk Falls pulp and paper mill indefinitely and told the city it cannot afford to pay a city tax bill traditionally in the $6 million range, so it will be paying only about $1.5 million in property taxes this year. That's left the city scrambling to find $4 to $4.5 million in lost revenue.

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Task force recommends $2 million tax break for mill (Times Colonist)