ote tin hh SPS NOE pT EE —

——— ee nek

ene fae a

Finance and Corporate Rela-

tions Minister Mel Couvelier in-

troduced legislation last month which he says will stabilize the industrial component of muni- cipal tax bases.

“The measures are being taken to avoid the serious finan- cial problems that unstable as- sessments and retroactive assess- ment changes have created for many municipalities in the past few years,’ Couvelier said.

‘They are not intended to in-

crease overall industrial proper- ty, taxes or to severely affect taxes imposed on any particular firm.’’

According to Couvelier, Bill 67 sets out a new way to assess industrial property, clarifies the

- composition of the industrial tax

base, restructures the Assess-

ment Appeal Board and im-

proves certain assessment appeal procedures. Couvelier said the changes

will provide municipalities with

the. ability to impose a unique tax rate on major industrial pro- perty. But he added, “This im- portant power is being given to municipalities as a means of en- suring tax base stability, not as a mechanism for raising further revenues from industry.”’

~ “However, notwithstanding this objective, no explicit con-

trols are being placed on mun-

icipal use of this authority. This is because the government believes local governments know the importance of industrial

: plants to their local economies

and. will use their enhanced authority accordingly.” -< He explained, ‘‘The new method of industrial assessment is being introduced so that pro- perty owners, municipalities and assessors can all have clear rules on assessing such property.’ - He said the new approach begins by calculating the cost to rebuild a subject industrial facility with its existing design but using modern materials and techniques, and then depreci- ating that calculated value at regulated rates. Couvelier added that these rates will vary between different industrial sectors and ‘will reflect the effective life of the plant.

Couvelier also said that the

- new legislation clarifies the com-

position of the industrial tax base.

“Kor years now,” he explain- ed, “‘the use of outdated prin- ciples has led to endless argu- ments about what industrial im- provements should and should not be subject to municipal tax.

“The approach introduced in this legislation,’’ he continued, “limits exemptions to industrial improvements exempted when the government eliminated the

machinery and equipment prop-- erty tax in 1985 and to similar in-

dustrial improvements construc- ‘ted since that time.’’

Couvelier said that beginning with the 1991 assessment roll,

- exemptions will be clearly defin-

ed for industrial improvements constructed after 1989 by means of a detailed listing of the pro- perties to which they apply. .

In court .

Tin Térrace provincial court on Wednesday, December 16 Kurt Boehm was sentenced to. five

. days in jail for theft. Boehm also

yeceived an additional five-day

- consecutive sentence for failure

to appear in court.

“Assessment Act j to be changed |

He said that the amendments also restructure the assessment appeal board by returning to the uriginal principle of one board to which appeals from courts of revision can be referred. The new board will have a perma- nent, full-time chairman and a number of vice-chairmen. Ap- pointments to the board will be

made following approval of the

legislation and will reflect the high levels of expertise needed to deal with the diverse and com- plex matters brought before the board. |

According to Couvelier the legislation will have an im- mediate effect on many munici- palities and should substantially improve the stability of muni- cipal tax bases by effectively eliminating the. type of disputes that have led to major property tax refunds in the past.

‘ The Terrace Downtown Lions were one of the many local 8 _ Jubilee Civic Parade with their official uniforms and banners of the city’s present day services and facilities have become

thelr predecessors. Represented in the Diamond Jubilee Civic

Fi ee LS TET wae een fgg ean nee ene

Terrace Review —

Wednesday, January 6, i988 19

ervice clubs who added color to the Dec. 27 Diamond demonstrating years of dedicated civic service. Many realities through the work of these volunteers and Parade were the BPOE Elks Lodge 4285, the Royal the Kinsmen and the Kinettes.

Purple, Rebekah Lodge 68, the Downtown Lions,

Betrayed by dreamers and demagogues

To the Editor;

I would like to express a sense of betrayal and abandonment by the Social. Credit government. Although I did not vote for our

local Social Credit . represen-—

tative, ] was quite prepared to accept the democratic will of the majority. However, in my naive- ty, | assumed that, once elected, the MLA’s would make a credit- able attempt to represent the views of all of their constituents and not simply use their majori- ty to ram through legislation ex- pressive of only their party’s point of view without the pro- mised consultation and careful

Insurance confidence

Letter

To the Editor;

The Globe and Mail of Dec. 18 contained an article by Angela Barnes that suggested

life insurance premiums would.

likely rise Jan. 1, 1988 due to the investment income tax. It urged consumers to contact their life insurance agent regarding the

actions taken by specific com-

panies.

On Dec. 11, 1987 Mutual Life announced the 1987 dividend scale for permanent insurance plans will be maintained for another year. Therefore, in 1988, there will be no dividend reduction on permanent in-

surance plans. Furthermore, the

term PRO dividends are being improved effective in 1988. With adverse Tax ‘‘Reforms”’ and the growth of claims due to “AIDS”, many smaller com-

panies may be in a less advantag-

ed position; however, the major

insurance companies are well |

managed in diversified port- folios. Indeed they are legislated

in this manner. One may con- 9.

tinue to look with confidence to

this fundamental financial in-

stitution. The effects of the revised Tax

_ Reform proposals . will be

analyzed during the next several months. Any action required as aresult of increased taxes would apply to the 1989 dividend scale, within Mutual Life.

Thank you.

Frank Donahue | Terrace, B.C,:

Letter

consideration.

Premier Vander Zalm has suc- ceeded, through Bills 19 and 20, in polarizing labor groups un- necessarily, forcing a rigid defense of principles at a time when conciliation and compro- mise were not only possible but likely. The government’s drive to privatize is, through the Premier’s own admission, not well thought-out. It is not satisfactory to promote a radical realignment of major. govern= ment services and the groups who provide these services solely on the basis of idology. Certain- ly, the studies done of government services should have been made available to the op- position party so that a full debate, with- sufficient time, could have taken place. The pro- cess followed to date causes me to fear that the Social Credit government does not consist of proven, competent realists who operate on sound business prin-

is yours for

~ Hew do you get your ad os, into the Review?

@ drop it In our mail slot

@ mail It to us

@ come Into our office

@ phone us

®@ or stop us on the street

There will be no billing! Pay next time you come In or next time you see us. We're work- Ing the “Honor System”

- Terrace Review —

4535 Grelg Ave., Terrace

ciples, but of dreamers and demagogues.

This fear is compounded by the decentralization plan. I cer- tainly do not consider such a

"system to be necessary for good

government in this province. 1 believe that if the democratic principles which should govern legislative debate were followed, there would be no need for such

reforms. I can’t help but wonder .

if the system of regional minis- teries is not simply one more way of circumventing the democratic process. which has served us well in this province for generations. : The Social Credit government has undertaken major initiatives which were not part of its elec- tion mandate and has done so in a fashion which is an insult to the people of this province and to the legislative assembly. 1 urge Premier Vander Zalm to stop; to return to his election promise of consultation; to reduce his haste in transforming our province; and to respect the

You don’t have to be rich to advertise!

A classified ad in the Terrace Review

“ONLY

(per week, 30 words or less)

citizens. enough to follow the traditional rules: of the legislature. Se

Terrace, B.C.

No truck yet

Nei! Lindseth and Pierre Jouy of Bytown Diesel attended a Terrace council Planning and Public Works Committee meeting recently to discuss the advantages of purchasing a Freightliner rather than a Mack chassis for the new fire engine.

Some of the points raised in comparing the two were that the Freightliner is built of standard components which are more rea- dily available, better engine per- formance and engine life and su- perior cab access.

The committee made no recommendations and further discussion was tabled until the next committee meeting when Fire Chief Cliff Best will be in attendance.

635-7840

jaime. y+

Frank Rowe 7