Spallumcheen farmers are digging in against council over a rise in the township’s farm class rate.
The township raised the Class 9 rate by more than double in 2014 to 11.179 from 5.1531 to counteract the effects of 2013’s Bill 8 where farmers enjoyed $120,000 of tax relief.
Class 9 is land only and if a resident has Class 9 land and has buildings that are being used on the farm, B.C. Assessment would classify the buildings as Class 1 residential.
Prior to Bill 8, if a resident had farm and out buildings in the operation of Class 9 land, farmers were given an assessment exemption to a maximum of $50,000.
Bill 8 removed the flat rate of $50,000, going instead to a rate that was either going to be the greater number of up to $50,000 or 87.5 per cent of the exemption.
Bill 8 cost the township more than $120,000 in farm tax revenue.
“We and many farmers have farm buildings with assessment under $50,000 so we were exempt from tax on them for years,” wrote farmer Ronald Bily in a letter to council.
“However, now as a result of Spallumcheen trying to recover revenue lost to them by Bill 8, our tax has risen to almost double.”
Bily called Spall’s move “unfair taxation.”
“It does nothing to help the average farmer in Spallumcheen,” he wrote.
Council said earlier this year the township’s agricultural advisory committee recommended the hike as opposed to recovering the revenue through development cost charges.
“If Spallumcheen is unable to make up the shortfall by other means, they must make cutbacks in road construction,” said Bily in his letter.
“Failing this, farmers may have to rise up and withhold taxes.”
The township will be meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss options for Bill 8.
