Huge tax break for Canaport

Provincial property tax assessors have slashed the appraised value of the Canaport LNG property now that the Irvings have to pay full property taxes on it.

The new assessment is $98 million which is down from last year’s $299.5 million. That cut of more than $200 million in value in just one year which will save Irving Oil about $5.5 million.

Councillor Gerry Lowe told CBC it’s mind boggling they could slash the assessment by that much.

Service New Brunswick sent an email to CBC saying the new assessment was done by an independent third party and is not related to a tax breaks or concessions for Irving. It said the old assessment on the LNG site had grown stale and the facility faces difficult financial circumstances.