Towns and cities across British Columbia exempt millions of dollars worth of property each year.
Provincial laws require the exemptions of religious-owned buildings used for "public worship" and many municipalities go further and exempt all other properties owned by religious groups.
A few councils, however, have taken a different path. Some administer a local benefits test to all organizations seeking property tax exemptions, while others have a policy to reject all exemption requests.
We will be profiling some of these communities and encourage you to look into the rules in your own community. Share what you learn with us and we'll feature it here.
Join our campaign for fair property tax exemptions
Latest news
Posted on
Blog by Ian Bushfield
· September 10, 2024
The small city of Rossland in the West Kootenays voted last month to tax some vacant land around the local Catholic Church.
Posted on
Blog by Ian Bushfield
· June 20, 2024
Churches and all other non-profit organizations in Terrace will soon have to pay some property taxes under changes approved by Council on June 10.
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Blog by Ian Bushfield
· March 12, 2024
A recent legal battle over the tax status of an island in the Salish Sea sheds some light on the privileges some religious institutions enjoy in British Columbia (BC). Expressly, the conditions under which places of public worship qualify for property tax exemptions.
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Blog by Ian Bushfield
· November 02, 2023
"This may not be a popular take,"
began Councillor Ian Ward at an October 10, 2023, Colwood City Council Meeting. In his speech, Councillor Ward outlined why two churches in his community should not receive permissive tax exemptions this year.
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Blog by Ian Bushfield
· October 16, 2023
Recently, North Cowichan municipal district council denied a property tax exemption to a crisis pregnancy center.
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Blog by Ian Bushfield
· October 11, 2023
Campbell River city council voted on September 28 to cut the property tax exemptions for the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society and the local art gallery.
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News
· January 19, 2023
On Monday, January 23, Saanich council will debate a motion calling on the province to eliminate the statutory exemptions for places of worship. The motion, "transition all statutory tax exemptions for places of worship to permissive tax exemptions," is being brought by Councillor Teale Phelps Bondaroff and would direct the Union...
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News
· June 23, 2022
The BC Humanist Association today renewed its call for a Secular BC in its response to the finance committee's consultations for Budget 2023. In its response, the organization calls for an end to funding of religious and elite private schools, the end of the statutory property tax exemption for places...
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Blog by Teale Phelps Bondaroff
· October 27, 2021
Without benefits tests for permissive tax exemptions (PTE), municipalities risk funding organizations that only provide services to their members, run commercial operations, exclude and discriminate against people or flout the law. This is exactly what the District of Saanich did at its meeting on Monday, October 25th when this municipal...
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Latest
· February 22, 2021
The BC Humanist Association released a report today calling on municipalities to adopt regular benefits tests for tax exemptions granted to places of worship. These tests, the report states, are necessary to ensure potential recipients of tax exemptions — which total millions each year — provide services that benefit the...
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