The Vancouver company working to buy an idled Nova Scotia paper mill is arguing that its municipal tax bill should be about one sixth of what it is currently expected to pay. Pacific West Commercial Corp. wants the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to cancel the Port Hawkesbury mill's tax agreement with Richmond County. The company's lawyers have filed a notice to disclaim or terminate the agreement, which was reached by then-owner Stora Enso and the municipality in 2006 and fixed municipal taxes for a 10-year period. The mill's 2011 tax bill was $2.652 million, about one quarter of the county's annual budget. Pacific West has filed an appraisal of the mill and site buildings to the court that lists their value at $20.9 million. If it was to pay municipal taxes based on the value in the assessment, its tax bill would be $420,090, not $2.652 million.
Pacific West is planning to buy
the mill for $33 million.
