I’ve stayed silent on this because frankly, I’d rather be cheering for #yyc than fighting with #yyccc. But my business, like 1000’s of others, received absolutely $0 of the $140M allocated for ‘relief.’ Instead, I’ve paid $1000’s more in prop tax every month since our June rally. https://twitter.com/calgaryherald/status/1194789685412925440

Why? Because like so many others, my landlord chose to appeal our 1-yr building assessment increase from $811k to $2.12M. The resulting ‘win’ in appeals court (4-month battle) pegged it at $1.4M. That so-called win was bigger than the 10% ‘relief’ we would have received. #yyccc

So: 200% (not 300% yay!) mid-recession building value increase x insane #yyc commercial property tax rate = huge shortfall owed to the City. The polar opposite of relief, stability or change. #yyccc

So pardon many of us for cringing at the constant mentions of the break afforded to #yycsmallbiz this year. @nenshi & City Council must end the facade and actually make this a great city to build and attract new business to. #yyccc

. @calgaryeconomic’s new $4M campaign to attract biz to #yyc stands starkly beside a msg I received today from a legendary local biz owner, after receiving the 2020 tax bill for his Kensington location. $69,000/yr 2019, $141,000/yr 2020. This problem is still very real. #yyccc

Inarguably, #yyccc has heard pleas, recommends & solutions from the BIA’s, @CalgaryChamber, @SandipLalli, countless economists, experts & entrepreneurs for 5 yrs. The only thing left to do next wk is act. Adjust the ratio & tighten your belt in real world terms. #yycsmallbiz