Group asks Niagara Falls to give tax credit for hotels helping Ukrainian refugees

A group called NiagaraGives is looking for the City of Niagara Falls to give any hotels accepting Ukrainian refugees a tax credit.

Josh Bieuz-Yasyszczuk, the founder of NiagaraGives and a local activist, sent a letter to Mayor Jim Diodati noting the City’s support of the Ukrainian-Canadian community, adding, “With an already strong Ukrainian community, Niagara is sure to become home to many Ukrainians seeking a life away from war.”

“These refugees will need our help to resettle, and rebuild their uprooted lives.”

To that end, Bieuz-Yasyszczuk said his group was asking hotels to set aside “temporary accommodation for Ukrainian refugees resettling to our community.”

Noting that the hotels would be doing so at a fiscal loss, he suggested the City could sweeten the pot by “a one-time tax credit on municipal property taxes for any Niagara hotels that choose to provide rooms as temporary accommodation for Ukrainian refugees entering our community.”

The matter has been referred to staff for review, meaning simply to see if the suggestion is workable – costs vs benefits to the City, potential future repercussions of handing out tax credits and the like.