A dispute has been launched by the City of Prince Rupert as they look to increase tax revenue from the Port.
Taxes on port properties come from a number of sources, including: regular property taxes from tenants, capped taxes from port terminals, and the Port Competitiveness Grant.
But Federal Crown land administered by the Prince Rupert Port Authority is not subject to taxation.
Instead, the PRPA makes Payments in Lieu of Taxes directly to the City, based on the valuation of the property in question.
In recent years, the assessment value of those properties has increased significantly, prompting an appeal from the Port Authority.
That appeal wrapped up in April, resulting in a final valuation of around $26 million each year from 2019 to 2021.
But, with those being between $47 million and $113 million less than the original valuations, the City has filed their own appeal with the Dispute Advisory Panel.
Should they lose, the City and in turn tax payers, will have to pay money back to the Authority, who already made interim payments based on the higher figures.
While discussing their appeal at a meeting this week, Council brought up the PRPA’s employee compensation program.
Councillors say the lower payments contribute to a higher net profit for the Port, resulting in a higher compensation payout.
But the PRPA says that net income is only one of many factors considered in the program, which also includes many performance objectives.
They say employees are also compensated for advancing projects which grow and diversify the local economy, and deliver on sustainability and community initiatives.
