A Richmond business owner is trying to keep his business alive despite surging operational costs and lower market demand - but this has meant relying on free help from his parents and letting his regular employees go.
Chi Him Chan, owner of Jade Marble & Granite, a family-run business in north Richmond, is now four months behind on his payroll. And the nearly $15,000 property tax he had to pay last month used up his last resources.
“I’m pausing to the point that I cannot make enough money to pay myself. I’m really struggling. If this [high property tax] continues, I will have to close my business down,” said Chan.
The assessed value of his warehouse at 12671 Bathgate Way has skyrocketed by nearly 78 per cent since 2021. As a result, Chan’s property taxes have risen by around $2,000 every year – now he is paying almost 50 per cent more than what he paid two years ago.
Chan said this has been the last straw for his struggling business and he will have to close his business down if no help is made available.
“It’s really a shame because we’ve been in business for 25 years and we love serving our customers and new customers that are coming in.”
Property value went up by 64% in a year
Chan is not the only one seeing rising property taxes – other business owners in the same strata complex close to Ikea have also seen their property values rise dramatically over the past two years, which has translated into higher property taxes.
Bob Banga, president of Wagonmaster Group, was shocked when he saw his property value jump up by 64 per cent in 2021, while the average increase in Richmond was 17 per cent.
“[BC Assessment] told me that the units in a size comparable to ours are selling much more in the market so they adjusted our valued price,” said Banga.
“But the problem is, they didn’t put into consideration the reason that made our units valued lower than others in the first place.”
He explained this property at the end of Bathgate Way has a very narrow entrance and pathway, so big trucks cannot come in and offload items directly at their loading docks.
This means business owners have to pay extra to have smaller trucks deliver their items, making the units here much less appealing to buyers, which, in turn, affects their prices.
Banga appealed the assessment and spent days collecting evidence to show why his lot is different from the units BC Assessment used for comparison.
His appeal resulted in a $300,000 reduction in the assessed value.
But the next year, he saw another 27 per cent increase in the property value, way above the average increase of 19 per cent.
Going through the process of appealing again was just too onerous.
“I didn’t even appeal this year. I was so busy that I worked until the night and when I got home I had to take care of the kids. I was so tired that I couldn’t do all this again… But we shouldn’t have to go through this hassle,” said Banga.
Other business owners haven’t been so lucky – after appealing, they only had minor adjustments on their property values.
“They only want to talk about a comparable unit but how am I going to find that unit that has the same setup and is on sale?” said Jack Kuber, owner of Tristar Headwear Corporation.
“Ironically, we can’t prove it unless one of our units is sold, then they will accept its real market value.”
Property values in the city are relatively stable: City
In addition to business owners, tenants on the site have also been hit hard by rising property values.
“As a tenant leasing a commercial unit, it’s a triple net. We have to pay for property taxes, strata fees and the property insurance,” said Chris Ho, who runs Paladin International Food Sales.
Ho’s rent increased by 50 per cent in 2021 after the property value went up dramatically.
“When I was trying to negotiate with our landlord, he just showed me the assessment, and I was shocked with the drastic increase of the property price, so there isn’t much room for a negotiation for the rental fee,” said Ho.
“It’s quite hard for local small businesses like us here. And ever since COVID, there’s a shortage of labour, high gas prices, carbon tax, stuff like that. It’s really hard on us.”
Chan said he hopes Richmond city council will introduce a property tax relief program like the pilot Development Potential Relief Program passed by Vancouver city council in March.
In Vancouver, for eligible properties, a portion of the land value will be taxed at a rate that is 50 per cent lower than the city’s blended general purpose tax rate for light industry and business properties.
However, City of Richmond spokesperson Clay Adams told the Richmond News the assessment values in the city are now “relatively stable with minimal increases from the prior year and there is currently little evidence of Richmond commercial properties experiencing skyrocketing assessments due to development potential.”
For this lot specifically, Adams said business owners will need to appeal to BC Assessment if they disagree with their property’s assessed value and the city “is not involved in that process as assessments are done by the provincial Crown corporation.”
