Some resort owners are hoping to see some relief from what they feel is excessive taxation, and the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) board agrees with them.
The CRD's resort taxation resolution was successfully passed at the North Central Local Governments Association (NCLGA) once again this year, with a modification made to the wording.
CRD chair Al Richmond explains the board had changed it somewhat from the language used in the 2010 resolution, as that didn't get approval at the subsequent Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) conference last year.
Loon Bay Resort co-owner and manager Manuela Betchart says taking the issue to these forums is a step in the right direction.
Noting she hopes it will pass at UBCM this year, Betchart adds tabling the resolution there also helps keep up government awareness of the financial issues faced by the highly taxed seasonal businesses.
This resolution suggests there should be an increase in property value exemption limits set by the Tourist Accommodation Assessment Relief Act, which Richmond says hasn't changed in 15 years, to ease the tax burden on seasonal resort owners.
"We still believe that some method of allowing them to have reduced taxation for the period that they are not operating would be best, but the government seems to be telling us all the reasons why that can't happen."
While the board is proposing increasing the exemption from its current $150,000, the CRD's resolution doesn't stipulate an amount.
Betchart says she would like to see the tax exemption doubled to $300,000 because the taxes have doubled since 2004.
"If they raise it by $50,000, it won't really make a huge difference. Of course, it would still be better than what we have right now."
The resort operator wants to see the playing field get back to about where it was before the tax hike, when the financial situation was much more viable for these tourism-boosting businesses.
Betchart says she would like to see the threshold used for the reduction formula to determine what businesses qualify for the tax exemption raised from $2 million to $4 million.
