Cindy MacDougall
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Dec 15/99) - Residents are getting a temporary break from last year's tax increase.

Monday night, city council voted unanimously to use 1999's interim mill rates, which means residents will not be paying this summer's 3.7 per cent tax increase on the first of two annual tax bills.

"We're keeping the interim rate the same this year as last year (1999) in order to keep it at the rate before the Giant tax increase," said Coun. Robert Slaven.

Blake Lyons pointed out the rates were only temporary.

"I just want to press the point that this is the interim measure, not the final," he said. "We set the final mill rates later in the year."

If at that time, council decides it cannot roll back the tax increase, the second tax bills issued by the city will be increased to reflect the higher mill rate.

The mill rate is set in June each year after homes, businesses and property are assigned assessed values. Property owners have a chance to appeal the assessment before the rate is set.

The mill rate multiplied by the assessment determines how much taxes a property owner must pay.

The 1999 interim residential rate was 6.45 mills compared to the 1999 final rate of 8.81 mills; multi-residential at 6.57 mills compared to 9.12 mills; businesses at 9.27 mills compared to 15.48 mills; mining and quarrying properties at 8.10 mills compared to 12 mills.

A home assessed at $200,000 will pay $1,290 in taxes on their first tax bill. A second amount will be levied after the final mill rate is set.

Lyons said a rollback of the tax increase may happen, but the time for such a decision is during the setting of the final rate.

"What we have in the horizon is the possibility that there'll be a payment of taxes from the Giant site," he said, referring to a recent proposal from Miramar Mining, which is in the process of buying Giant from interim receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In the proposed deal, Miramar agrees to pay $699,000 of Giant mine taxes in 2000, and will sell some waterfront leases to the city.

Lyons said if the deal goes through, a rollback may be in the works.

"Until then, we don't want to base our judgment on speculation," he said.