Saint John cuts tax deal for Irving
WebPosted Mar 15 2005 01:42 PM AST
CBC News
nb.cbc.ca
SAINT JOHN — Saint John city council voted in favour Monday night of a tax deal on the land where Irving Oil and its European partner plan to build a liquefied natural gas plant.
Kenneth Irving wants to build the LNG plant with Repsol of Spain. Under the deal the companies will pay $500,000 per year in property taxes for the next 25 years, about one tenth of what the land could have brought in.
Mayor Norm McFarlane told council the deal had to be done by midnight last night or the plant wouldn't be built. McFarlane says he spoke with Kenneth Irving several times over the last few months.
"I asked him very clearly, and looked into his eyes, and said, 'Kenneth, you look into my eyes and tell me, if this does not happen, will this facility not be here?'" says McFarlane. "And he very clearly said, 'Yes, it is true.'"
The mayor says the deal had to remain secret because of international competition.
City councillor Glen Tait doesn't like the idea. He says the city could have made up to $125 million, instead of $12.5 million over the 25-year period.
Callers to CBC Radio's Information Morning agreed with Tait.
"Billionaires get all the breaks and the ordinary citizen gets nothing," said June Garfield. "I'm sure if Mr. Irving doesn't get his own way, there'll be somebody else will be only too willing to come in and we'd have some competition in New Brunswick."
LNG boosters say the deal makes economic sense. By giving the companies a big tax break, they claim it will position Saint John to become a major energy hub. They also point out the plant will mean about $1.5 billion in local spending. |
