WHEREAS Crown Corporations are expected to pay their fair share of property taxes by providing a grant-in-lieu; AND WHEREAS private utilities pay property taxes to municipalities and regional districts on property including rights-of-way for distribution and transmission lines, and private utilities and BC Hydro provide municipalities a 1 tax on gross sales revenues within their jurisdictions: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM lobby the Province of British Columbia to explore the taxation of BC Hydro and implement a fair and equitable method of compensation to all local governments for the provision of local and regional services.
Ministry of Finance Government announced a revised grants-in-lieu policy in 2006 that created a transparent basis for calculating the grants that BC Hydro pays in respect of its generating facilities. The revised policy also increased the grants paid to communities that host andor are impacted by those facilities. Government also decided to not provide grants to regional districts for BC Hydro transmission and distribution lines. However, given the length of time since the last review, the issue of grants-in-lieu paid by BC Hydro with respect to its transmission and distribution assets, the Minister of Finance agreed to consider this resolution during the preparation of Budget 2012.
BC Hydro With respect to the issue of providing a fair and equitable method of compensating local governments, BC Hydro pays grants-in-lieu as authorized by the provincial government. We recognize that BC Hydro operations can have a significant presence in many communities and, as a result, various actions are taken to mitigate these impacts. Last year, for example, more than 60 million was paid by BC Hydro to municipalities and regional districts across BC. Since 2005, annual grants-in-lieu have increased by 47 percent, and more than 60 percent since 2000. In addition, BC Hydro contributes to local economies as a result of its permanent work force, and increasingly through its ambitious multi-billion dollar capital investment program in all regions of the province. Where we have significant generation operations as in the Columbia, Peace and Coastal regions, BC Hydro also invests millions of dollars through its Fish and Wildlife Compensation and water use planning programs.