The B.C. government will be forking over $51,065.68 to the City of Prince Rupert this month as compensation from municipal taxes for provincial properties.
The province is distributing approximately $17.3 million this month in compensation for municipal property taxes to 56 communities around the province.
Grants-in-lieu-of property taxes are distributed every November and reimburse municipalities for services that benefited government properties, such as municipally run sewers, roads and fire protection.
Grants are issued in accordance with the Municipal Aid Act and are payable on land owned by the provincial government such as courthouses, provincial government office buildings and warehouses.
Schools and hospitals are exempt from paying municipal property taxes and are not part of the grants-in-lieu calculation. Other provincial assets such as highways, forests, parks or land under the control, management or administration of a Crown corporation are also excluded from compensation under the act.
This year’s payment from the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services is $167,000 more than last year’s total of $17.1 million.
The increase is attributed to a number of factors, including fluctuations based on property assessments as well as the sale and purchase of government properties around the province.
