YQR airport approved for continued municipal tax break

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Regina airport authorities expect him to receive over $1 million in local tax exemptions over the next five years.

On Friday, April 1, 2022, a WestJet Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner scheduled to depart Calgary and arrive in Toronto made an unscheduled stop at Regina International Airport in Regina. Photo by TROY FLEECE/Regina Leader-Post

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The Regina Airports Authority (RAA) will not have to pay any portion of the municipal property tax for the next five years after renewing its contract with the City of Regina.

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The city council considered the motion during its session Wednesday and approved it unanimously, 8-0.
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count. Landon Mohl (Ward 10) and the Earl. Counselor Shannon Zakidoniak (8th Ward) has gone missing.

“I don’t think it’s necessary to repeat the importance of the airport for the capital,” Kaung said. Jason Mancinelli (Precinct 9) before the vote. The deal, now approved, exempts the local government portion of an estimated $311,400 annual airport property tax for the next five years.

It also exempts the education and library portion of the property tax at a percentage of the municipal portion that is exempted each year.

This equates to a total of $1,557,000 in reduced local government costs for the airport over the term of the contract.

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The RAA had previously been granted a five-year municipal property tax exemption by the City of Regina in 2019, which expires in 2023.

The agreement includes terms under which the RAA will limit airfare to Regina based on Statistics Canada’s Statistics Canada Consumer Price Index (CPI) and will ensure that the City of Regina will not default on its outstanding property taxes. It was

A change agreed in 2021 would require the airport to commit one airline by the end of December 2022 for daily, year-round service from Regina to the U.S. hub, which is expected to begin by the end of 2023. was also requested.

The RAA said it had so far failed to meet its obligations and requested an extension.

The airport said in the last two years he cited air travel disruptions caused by COVID-19 as a notable factor that contributed to the inability of such services to land.

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Regina International Airport has endured two years of upheaval, including changes in federal policy that have put the airport at risk of losing its international designation.

The airport will record an average of 65% of pre-pandemic passenger numbers in 2022, and in 2021 he will post a loss of $5.5 million.

Pre-pandemic traffic is expected to fully recover by 2025, but the RAA says there are still concerns that could slow growth.

“The RAA believes they have weathered the worst of the storm,” the filing reads. “Airports have lost millions of dollars in recent years, and tax free support is invaluable.”

Competition in the travel industry will intensify from 2021 onwards, according to the RAA, with administrators expected to take up to 2 months before showing

“significant interest” in how U.S. airlines connect to medium-sized Canadian cities to make Regina. I estimate that it will take years.

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All other terms of the original contract have been met, according to the RAA.

The airline’s fares didn’t change until January this year when he announced a 5% price increase. This remains below his CPI hike of 11% over the same period and the RAA has no outstanding taxes to the city.

The ongoing waiver will allow Regina International Airport to continue to control spending, keep fees low, attract airline interest, and expand flight offerings. “Air travel plays an important role in Regina’s economy and has the potential to directly link to business investment, tourism and employee attraction and retention,” said the RAA.

“Airports have lost millions of dollars in recent years, and tax free support is invaluable.”

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The updated agreement approved Wednesday is an extension of the agreement approved in 2019, as outlined in its submission to the Board.
Also, from 2023 he will span a five-year period through 2027, subject to the aforementioned terms, including extending Regina’s deadline to secure US connectivity.

lkurz@postmedia.com

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