The Vogue Cinema is headed for tax sale this January, unless owner Jeff Coates can make good on nearly $70,000 in back taxes owed to the provincial government.
The provincial Finance and Treasury Board posted an Expression of Interest on the property at 9 Bridge Street in an attempt to contact Coates.
A tax certificate from the board shows that Coates’ numbered company owes $69,236.37 in unpaid taxes as of this month. The 2024 tax levy on the property was $7,509.79.
At tax sale, the bidding on the building will start with the amount owing to the province. The earliest the theatre could go up for sale would be January 2025. Before that, the property will continue to accrue taxes and fees, meaning the minimum bid could be closer to $78,000 by the time it goes up for sale.
But any liens on the property will be dissolved by the tax sale. That means that more than $65,000 in debt owed to the Canada Revenue Agency could disappear. The debt was registered against the property in 2022, and dates back to money owed as of 2017, according to registration documents available through Service New Brunswick.
Coates’ numbered company is also the subject of a bankruptcy filing by the Westmoreland Albert Community Business Development Corporation, who say Coates owes them about $76,000.
On June 4, the Court of King’s Bench ruled the company bankrupt, after a hearing where Coates did not appear. BDO Canada has been appointed trustee for the bankrupt company.
Coates, who ran the cinema for 17 years and worked there for a decade before that, has not returned emails enquiring about the status of the beloved cinema and venue.
