City council has passed a property tax exemption for a downtown tower that will be the world headquarters of potash giant Mosaic.
The company will be exempt from paying property tax on the 20-storey office tower, located at 1870 Hamilton Street, for a five-year period. The move will save Mosaic an estimated $1.6 million.
The company has plans to relocate 96 jobs from the Belle Plaine, Sask. area to Regina, in addition to 54 jobs from the Minneapolis area.
At Monday's city council meeting, Coun. Fred Clipsham argued Mosaic should be given a 75-per cent tax exemption, as per the city's policy, not the 100 per cent tax break that was approved.
However, Coun. Louis Browne noted that other companies have received 100 per cent tax exemptions in the past, and those deals were less beneficial to the city than the deal with Mosaic is expected to be.
