Gerry Lowe is the Liberal MLA for Saint John Harbour. (Submitted)
A Saint John Liberal MLA is restarting his attempt to repeal property tax exemptions for heavy machinery and equipment.
Gerry Lowe introduced Bill 9 in the legislature in December but withdrew it on Wednesday morning.
“We found out that only the government can introduce bills that pertain to monetary, which is what taxes does,” said Lowe.
Lowe then introduced a motion calling for a two-hour discussion on the matter later this month.
If passed, the bill would move onto the law amendments committee for more discussion, and a bill could be created if it receives the majority vote at that stage.
“I think the two minority parties will definitely vote for it,” Lowe said, referring to the Green party and the People’s Alliance.
“All it does is it brings dialogue to our problems in Saint John, where we’re looking for fair taxation, and that’s the whole basis where it all came from.”
In a previous interview, Lowe said including heavy machinery and equipment in the calculation of a property’s assessment value will mean more revenue for municipalities. In the case of Saint John, it would help reduce the city’s structural deficit, which is expected to balloon to $15 million by 2021.
Lowe said his intention from day one has simply been to have some dialogue surrounding fair taxation.
“It’s never, never been discussed in the whole 58 years before, so at least we’re getting a platform to be able to talk about it,” he said.
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