The City of Saskatoon is looking at all the requests that have come in from businesses about tax deferrals or tax forgiveness because of the pandemic challenges and a report will be presented to Council in the near future.
Mayor Charlie Clark told the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce during an online discussion that their request for a deferral to the end of December is among them.
The City has already deferred property tax and utility fees to the end of September, but the Mayor understands that many business owners and residents may just be getting back on their feet around that time as businesses reopen.
Clark says they have received requests from a hotelier and from the Saskatoon Airport Authority among others.
One thing that Council doesn’t want to do is increase property taxes.
Clark says people are already facing financial challenges so instead, they hope to use a combination of tools including requests for funding from other levels of government to make ends meet.
If at the end of the year there is still a gap, the City can defer some capital spending projects, but the goal is to not have to do that because having people working on these projects helps to bolster the economy.