Pipeline tax breaks vex Thompson-Nicola Regional District board

Front of a library building
Thompson-Nicola Regional District civic building and library in downtown Kamloops. DARREN RATHWELL / iNFOnews.ca

Planned tax reductions for pipelines mean a likely hike for property owners in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

The regional district’s board was told last month that BC Assessment plans to reduce values it places on pipelines, meaning $250,000 the district normally gets from the Trans Mountain pipeline will be slashed.

On Oct. 23, directors gave BC Assessment staffer Chris Whyte an earful.

“I would suggest this is not a good look for pipelines to be reducing what they pay and having that go on the backs of ordinary people, many of whom have seen their lives considerably disrupted by the pipelines going through their communities and their areas,” board chair Barbara Roden said.

Asked whether there’s an opportunity for input, Whyte said BC Assessment isn’t looking for “anymore” from local governments.

“I anticipated there would be frustration with the outcomes of this. I wish I was delivering a different message, of course, and that it will have different impacts on your various electoral areas throughout the district,” he said.

Although the process has been ongoing for years — stopping and starting since 2020 — the review that reduces property taxes for utilities across BC is slated to be approved by December. The pipeline review means pipelines in the Thompson-Nicola region will have assessed values reduced by $300 million or 27 per cent, Whyte said.

If completed, local governments will either reduce their spending or increase taxes elsewhere in response before next summer. For the regional district, it could end up with a 25% tax increase for property owners, according to a letter to BC Finance Minister Brenda Bailey.

At the Oct. 23 meeting, the frustration was clear.

“It’s disgusting that you ignore the people that live in BC and you’re just telling us. It’s like talking to a block wall right now. You’re not concerned, you have no emotion,” rural director David Laird said to Whyte. “It’s just your way and we can’t do anything about it.”

BC Assessment’s next move is to tax rail companies again, which haven’t paid property taxes to local governments in BC for decades.

That change isn’t expected to be adopted until next year and it’s not clear how it would affect Kamloops or the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, which host both CP and CN rails.

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Levi Landry

Levi is a recent graduate of the Communications, Culture, & Journalism program at Okanagan College and is now based in Kamloops. After living in the BC for over four years, he finds the blue collar and neighbourly environment in the Thompson reminds him of home in Saskatchewan. Levi, who has previously been published in Kelowna’s Daily Courier, is passionate about stories focussed on both social issues and peoples’ experiences in their local community. If you have a story or tips to share, you can reach Levi at 250 819 3723 or email LLandry@infonews.ca.

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