Victoria reduces property tax rate for businesses

The Chamber and the Downtown Victoria Business Association commend the City of Victoria for reducing property taxes for business. It's the right thing to do as the pandemic continues to create challenges for our region’s economy.  

The City of Victoria has approved a two per cent decrease in taxes — about $146 for business with an average assessed value of $647,000. During 2020, the assessed value of commercial property dropped by an average of 5.29 per cent. Residential assessed values in the city increased by 2.26 per cent.  

“We’re grateful that Victoria council has acknowledged the struggles businesses are facing with uncertain conditions and the pace of change spurred by the pandemic,” Bruce Williams, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce says. “We’re seeing many businesses pivot successfully and develop innovations that allow them to adapt. Reducing taxes during this time shows that the city wants to work with the business community, so that all of our employers and operators have a chance to get through this together.”  

The tax break reflects an adjustment to the city’s current policy of equalizing changes to taxes across all classes. If council had chosen to follow that policy, the average assessed business would have had a tax increase of $122.

The Chamber will recap property tax rates for businesses in all Greater Victoria municipalities as the information becomes available in the coming weeks.
Chamber News Release