About one-in-three municipal councils require religious organizations demonstrate their public benefit prior to receiving exemptions from property taxes, according to a new survey by the BC Humanist Association (BCHA).
Under BC law, municipalities are required to exempt buildings of "public worship" from property taxes but are free to decide whether to exempt other properties owned by religious groups, such as parking lots.
The BCHA emailed the 162 municipalities in the province to determine whether they grant property tax exemptions to religious properties and if organizations are required to demonstrate how the property in question will serve the greater needs of the community.
Of the 98 respondents, 7 municipalities (Anmore, Belcarra, Lion's Bay, Sayward, Warfield, Wells and Zeballos) reported having no religious properties and 5 (Keremeos, Kimberley, Masset, Telkwa and Vancouver) said they did not provide permissive tax exemptions to religious properties. Of those municipalities that did provide exemptions, 28 asked organizations to explain how the exemption would benefit the broader community.
"By showing the vastly different approaches municipalities across BC are taking toward religious property taxes, we're aiming to spark conversations about what's often an overlooked power that city councils have," said Ian Bushfield, Executive Director of the BC Humanist Association. "Our cities are under intense economic pressures from housing affordability to rebuilding following the wildfires, while at the same time religious attendance continues to decline. If a congregation isn't pulling its weight in the community, it's worth asking whether they should continue to receive this break on their taxes?"
The BCHA plans to write profiles of some of these communities over the coming weeks as part of its campaign for a discussion on fair permissive tax exemptions.
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