The way Common Council granted Irving Oil the 25 year LNG tax concession back in 2005 coming under criticism in a report from City Solicitor John Nugent who concludes legally, there isn’t much the city can do to change it.
Councillor Gerry Lowe estimates the city will lose out on 200 million dollars over the course of 25 years and he would like a request be made to Irving Oil and the province to see if the city can get more tax revenue, saying it can’t jurt to ask.
Nugent says back in 2005, then Mayor Norm MacFarlane met with then Irving Oil President Kenneth Irving alone and with no notes being taken. Common Council was given just a few hours to make a decision on the tax deal and Nugent also points out no one on Council bothered to ask why the LNG project would not proceed without the tax concession.
Lowe says he doubts whether such a similar tax deal would even be considered in the future and he doesn’t understand how anyone back then could have approved of such an arrangement that has hurt the city’s fbottom line so badly.
