After mayor touts tax windfall for town, new Stephenville airport owner asks for relief
CBC
The Stephenville Dymond International Airport, purchased last summer by an entrepreneur promising to build giant futuristic drones and create hundreds of jobs, is in talks with the town council to slash a hefty tax bill.
The Ottawa-based Dymond Group, owner of the western Newfoundland airport since last August, hopes to pay the Town of Stephenville a grant in lieu of taxes — a payment that would be a fraction of the yearly tax revenues that have been touted by Stephenville Mayor Tom Rose.
In 2022 and early 2023 — while the deal remained up in the air — Rose indicated on several occasions that the town would receive about a quarter of a million dollars a year in tax once the airport was sold.
However, in an interview last week with Radio-Canada, Rose said, "Normally, with big infrastructure like ports and airports, instead of getting a full tax regime, you tend to get a grant in lieu of taxes."
Rose said the payment in lieu of taxes will likely be between $50,000 and $100,000 a year. He added that similar agreements are in place with other airports in the province. Negotiations are scheduled for later this month, he said.
Stephenville Dymond International Airport CEO Lew Short said the airport has made a proposal to the town but wouldn't provide further details.
"I think a lot of people have a misunderstanding of that whole process," Short said. "We're basically requesting a tax break. So that tax break enables us to put more into the infrastructure because we are improving the infrastructure of the airport."
How long would the tax break last? Short said that's up to the town.
Rose said the grant would be renegotiated over time.
"When a company's coming in to say, 'We're going to outlay this capital, we got to grow the airport, we got to attract the airlines,' we got to get things moving."
The mayor cited Deer Lake as a precedent for such an arrangement, saying council there receives a grant of only $50,000 per year.
Rose said the council will vote publicly on any deal.
Stephenville has struggled to retain scheduled commercial flights for years, with no airlines currently providing regular service. The town council has funnelled significant tax dollars to the airport in the past — before the new owners took over — to keep the operation on life support.
Short said about 15 people currently work at the airport, clearing the runways and maintaining the building for the few medical and private flights that land at the sleepy facility. Inside the terminal, former car rental counters have been transformed into a showcase for local taxidermy.
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