Whereas the British Columbia Home Owner Grant related to property tax is larger if a persons lives in a rural area; And whereas the five Southern Gulf Islands of Salt Spring, Galiano, Mayne, Saturna, North and South Pender Islands and the Juan de Fuca do not receive the rural grant because the Capital Regional District CRD is excluded from the rural grant. This is unfair and inequitable for the taxpayers of the Southern Gulf Islands whose living conditions are no different than those in neighboring jurisdictions such as the electoral areas of the Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo Regional Districts who are eligible for the rural grant: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the province officially designate the Capital Regional District electoral areas as rural for the purposes of the British Columbia Home Owner Grant.
Ministry of Finance The Northern and Rural Area Home Owner Benefit can increase a home owner grant by up to 200 for homeowners who reside outside the Capital, Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley regional districts. The program was added in 2011 as part of carbon tax revenue recycling to recognize the challenges which residents in some parts of the province face in minimizing their carbon footprint. More information on the program can be found online. https:www2.gov.bc.cagovcontenttaxesproperty-taxesannual-property-tax The current boundaries for the benefit continue to be a reasonable approximation for the policy goal. The government does not plan to add or remove certain areas from the program at this time.