Board Commends Considerations for Business in this Year’s Budget and Requests Increased Prudence and Diligence in Coming Years

St. John’s, NL, December 7, 2020 – The St. John’s Board of Trade commends the consideration given to business in today’s budget. It has been an incredibly tough year for business owners and residents alike and an increase in taxes would make an extremely challenging year even worse.
 
2020 has thrown numerous overwhelming and unpredictable circumstances at the business community and the road to recovery is going to be long—it is helpful to know that an increased tax bill is not being thrown into the mix of obstacles faced this year.
 
The St. John’s Board of Trade is also asking City Council for fiscal diligence and prudence as planning for next year’s budget gets underway in the spring. “We were pleased to see that our members would not be facing an increase in their tax bill this year,” said AnnMarie Boudreau, CEO, St. John’s Board of Trade. “But we cannot take our foot off the gas. We need Council to continue to diligently look for innovative ways to reduce the impact of decreasing revenues and ensure that the bill is not passed onto taxpayers in the years to come.”
 
“We understand that it is never easy to reduce services and that Council has made difficult decisions this year to help balance the budget,” said Andrew Wadden, Chair, St. John’s Board of Trade. “But it is critical that they keep looking for new ways to reduce spending and that all options are on the table. It is time to be strategic and bold in our approach to address the looming deficit—options such as selling Mile One must be openly and thoroughly assessed, and given sincere consideration, so we’re not looking to taxpayers to balance the books in years to come. For one, we would like to see an increase in the support for development in the City’s industrial and business parks. Some municipalities have done well at promoting such development and the City must work in concert with developers and business owners to grow developments, or opportunities could be missed.”
 
The St. John’s Board of Trade and our members look forward to having the opportunity to participate in such conversations early in 2021. We will be at the table with open minds, creative suggestions and a positive, solutions-orientated perspective that is needed to protect taxpayers and ensure the City of St. John’s remains open for business.