Walmart is one of five big box stores with tax appeals that could lead to an almost $1 million loss in revenue for the City. (file photo/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

Big Box tax appeal

Councillor blasts big box stores, province for $1 million tax loss

Sep 27, 2022 | 12:49 PM

Councillors have sounded off on the fact that the city could lose as much as $1 million in tax revenue following appeals on assessments by several big box stores.

In Saskatchewan, most assessments are calculated by the Sask. Assessment Management Agency, a province-wide organization. Municipalities can choose to hire private contractors to do their assessments but most do not.

Don Cody said the largest of all the five big box stores that appealed their taxes expects much from the city and delivers very little in return.

“It’s really sad when you look at the situation. The biggest of the biggest are taking us to the cleaners,” he said. “We’ve got all kinds of mom-and-pop organizations, we’ve got big houses and little houses and they see fit not to do this.”

He pointed out that of the five businesses that were successful in their appeal (Walmart, Jysk, Sport Chek and Marks Work Warehouse) only Canadian Tire makes significant contributions back to the community.

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“During COVID times, the one store in particular has made nothing but massive profits, massive, massive profits and they take the city to the cleaners,” Cody said. “And what do they do? They don’t even look after their parking lot properly, they want us to have the security, they want our police to be called there all the time and they don’t want to pay.”

Council said staff did not make a mistake in applying the taxes and that the province is partially responsible for the loss.

“Senior governments are there to protect the little people. Not to take them to the cleaners and that’s what’s happening here. There are ways the province of Saskatchewan could have protected us, and they did not do it,” Cody said.

Council voted in favour of taking the shortfall of about $850,000 (when combined with subsequent appeals) from the Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

They pointed out regular taxpayers in the city will end up footing the bill in the end and that tax agents from Eastern Canada are being hired in an unfair contest.

The loss is not just from reduced tax revenue because the dispute is a legal one. The value of the loss could grow up to just under $1 million as there are still some outstanding cases to be resolved.

Regina and Saskatoon have had similar issues and the tax agent company challenged other Canadian Tire and Walmart store assessments in the province in municipalities that use similar taxation approaches.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com