WHEREAS Section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act provides that land and improvements if the land and improvements are i. owned or occupied, and ii used exclusively by a non-profit organization for activities that are of demonstrable benefit to all members of the community where the land is located are exempt from taxation; AND WHEREAS BC Assessment may apply exemptions under this section without consultation with the local government: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities urge the provincial government to amend the Taxation Rural Area Act to require approval of the local government in which the property is located prior to granting or denying an exemption or major change under Section 151q; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities request that BC Assessment be required to provide a list of existing exemptions under this section to the applicable local governments for review and approval.
BC Assessment Corporation BC Assessment is an independent crown corporation charged with ensuring that assessments are uniform in the province of British Columbia. BC Assessment was created because of the recognition that there is a need for an independent and objective assessment authority in British Columbia, not only for property valuation and classification, but also for the application of property tax exemptions. As was argued in a relatively recent Property Assessment Appeal Board decision, the assessor is a quasi-judicial body with statutory obligations to ensure conformity and consistency of assessments with other similar properties. It is the assessors responsibility to determine whether a property will qualify for exemption under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act. In making that determination, the assessor will draw upon his or her experience in administering this exemption, and will also consider authority interpreting this exemption and the assessment policy relating to its application. A copy of the assessment policy relating to this exemption is on BC Assessments website. The policy suggests a property owner seeking exemption under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act should provide a letter from the regional district to confirm the extent of community benefits. It is not a requirement that the person seeking the exemption do this, but is suggested as one of the pieces of evidence that will be useful to an assessor in determining whether the exemption should apply. Such a letter from the regional district will assist the assessor in determining whether the use of the property provides community benefit as required by the exemption. It is also an acknowledgement that the views of the regional district are important in this regard. Consequently, there is already in place a suggestion that there be consultation between the assessor, the applicant for the exemption, and the regional district with regard to the determination of whether this exemption should apply. Insofar as the suggestion that this exemption not be given effect unless approved of first by the local government, it should be noted that any local government has the right to appeal the assessors decision to apply this exemption. This ability to appeal addresses any situation where a local government may disagree with the application of this exemption or the assessors decision not to apply it. Interestingly, it is sometimes the case that a property could be eligible for a permissive exemption under the Local Government Act. Sometimes, regional districts exercise their discretion against exempting a property permissively. However, should that occur, it will not be determinative of whether the property qualifies for exemption under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act. The assessor will still be required to exercise principled decision-making when determining whether this exemption applies, and requiring local government approval to that process is unnecessary. It follows that if regional districts are desirous generally of a provision that requires regional district approval of such exemptions, a legislative amendment would be necessary. Any review of such an amendment should also consider whether the provisions of section 151q should be converted to a series of permissive exemptions administered by the regional district such as are available in the Community Charter. This would put the authority for these exemptions in the regional districts rather than the assessor. The UBCM resolution also indicates that BC Assessment should be required to make available to local governments a list of all properties exempted under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act. In this regard, we assume that local governments means regional districts, rather than municipal councils, given that this exemption under the Taxation Rural Area Act has no application within municipalities. BC Assessment can produce a custom report listing the properties that are in receipt of this exemption to any regional district requesting it. It is not necessary that the legislation be amended to provide for this.
BC ASSESSMENT Thank you for your letter of October 28, 2005 in which you brought to my attention Resolution B89 passed by the UBCM at its meeting in September in relation to property tax exemptions under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act. BC Assessment is an independent crown corporation charged with ensuring that assessments are uniform in the province of British Columbia. BC Assessment was created because of the recognition that there is a need for an independent and objective assessment authority in British Columbia, not only for property valuation and classification, but also for the application of property tax exemptions. As was argued in a relatively recent Property Assessment Appeal Board decision, ...the assessor is a quasi-judicial body with statutory obligations to ensure conformity and consistency of assessments with other similar properties. It is the assessors responsibility to determine whether a property will qualify for exemption under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act. In making that determination, the assessor will draw upon his or her experience in administering this exemption, and will also consider authority interpreting this exemption and the assessment policy relating to its application. A copy of the assessment policy relating to this exemption is on BC Assessments website, and for your convenience, a copy is attached to this letter. Note that the policy suggests a property owner seeking exemption under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act should provide a ...letter from the regional district...to confirm the extent of community benefits. It is not a requirement that the person seeking the exemption do this, but is suggested as one of the pieces of evidence that will be useful to an assessor in determining whether the exemption should apply. Such a letter from the regional district will assist the assessor in determining whether the use of the property provides community benefit as required by the exemption. It is also an acknowledgment that the views of the regional district are important in this regard. Consequently, there is already in place a suggestion that there be consultation between the assessor, the applicant for the exemption, and the regional district with regard to the determination of whether this exemption should apply. Insofar as the suggestion that this exemption not be given effect unless approved of first by the local government, please note that any local government has the right to appeal the assessors decision to apply this exemption. This ability to appeal addresses any situation where a local government may disagree with the application of this exemption or the assessors decision not to apply it. Interestingly, it is sometimes the case that a property could be eligible for a permissive exemption under the Local Government Act. Sometimes, regional districts exercise their discretion against exempting a property permissively. However, should that occur, it will not be determinative of whether the property qualifies for exemption under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act. The assessor will still be required to exercise principled decision-making when determining whether this exemption applies, and requiring local government approval to that process is unnecessary. It follows that if regional districts are desirous generally of a provision that requires regional district approval of such exemptions, a legislative amendment would be necessary. Any review of such an amendment should also consider whether the provisions of section 151q should be converted to a series of permissive exemptions administered by the regional district such as are available in the Community Charter. This would put the authority for these exemptions in the regional districts rather than the assessor. The UBCM resolution also indicates that BC Assessment should be required to make available to local governments a list of all properties exempted under section 151q of the Taxation Rural Area Act. In this regard, I assume that local governments means regional districts rather than municipal councils, given that this exemption under the Taxation Rural Area Act has no application within municipalities. BC Assessment can produce a custom report listing the properties that are in receipt of this exemption to any regional district requesting it. It is not necessary that the legislation be amended to provide for this.