Klein eyes tax breaks for developers in ‘under-serviced’ neighbourhoods

Kevin Klein promises to seek a federal tax break and a new city incentive to attract private construction of homes and stores in “economically distressed” neighbourhoods if he becomes Winnipeg’s next mayor.

In a Thursday letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Klein asks Ottawa to work with Winnipeg to develop “community opportunity zones.”

“Many of Winnipeg’s older neighbourhoods continue to struggle with high numbers of vacant and boarded-up properties. These buildings sit empty for years, becoming fire risks, sources of disorder, and barriers to neighbourhood recovery,” Klein wrote.

During a news conference, Klein said he wants the federal government to defer or eliminate taxes on capital gains for investors with qualifying projects in designated “distressed, under-serviced” neighbourhoods. He would work with Ottawa to identify the exact zones where those tax breaks apply, which would be available to Indigenous-led organizations and other groups.

“We need them to take down the derelict houses, we need them to rebuild strip malls so that people in those areas have places to shop, places to live, places to grow,” he said.

The candidate said he would also offer a municipal tax waiver specifically to Indigenous-led organizations to support developments throughout the city, provided the properties remain under Indigenous ownership.

“If an Indigenous business buys a vacant property to build a home or a business, the city will remove the municipal property tax on that property,” he said.

Klein suggested the city could waive property taxes for up to 10 years for qualifying projects.

“This is an opportunity to get more investment into our city. A new property, a new store, a new business, that will be paying taxes for decades to come,” he said.

He deemed the policy an important step toward economic reconciliation.

Klein said he would seek the federal tax break to apply in both cases.

“Together, (these changes) mean more housing, they mean more storefronts, and fewer boarded-up buildings,” he added.

Zoned tax breaks have proven effective in the United States, Klein said, crediting them with attracting “hundreds of thousands of additional housing units in low-income areas (or) under-serviced areas.”

Meanwhile, mayoral candidate Don Woodstock says he would introduce a Homebuyer and Taxpayer Protection Act, if he’s elected.

That would require developers to pay for property tax rebates to affected homeowners when the companies fail to deliver promised roads, parks or sidewalks on time.

He said some residents of new neighbourhoods have faced unreasonable waits for basic infrastructure.

“People want some relief, they want some answers and this is providing them the answer,” said Woodstock.

He said he’s confident the provincial government, which controls city tax rules, would make any change needed to allow the rebates. He also hopes to require developers to pay to fix defects in roads, curbs and drainage before the city assumes ownership of that infrastructure.

Also on his list is adding a public registry that shares developers’ building deficiencies. Homeowners could report significant home defects, such as shifting foundations and water leaks, that have not been addressed for at least two years to a city intake centre, which would be added to the registry, he said.

“We, as a city, need to start tracking it so we can find a way to hold people a little bit more accountable,” said Woodstock.

He said the city could impose penalties for companies with repeated issues, though exact sanctions have not been determined.

Election day is Oct. 28.

joyanne.pursaga@winnipegfreepress.com

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