This archived statute consolidation is current to February 9, 2004 and includes changes enacted and in force by that date. For the most current information, click here.

[Current to B.C. Regulations Bulletin February 9, 2004]

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT — Continued
[RSBC 1996] CHAPTER 323

Part 10 – Municipal Taxation: Special Cases

Sections Repealed

339 to 343 [Repealed 2003-52-256.]

343.1 to 343.2 [Repealed 2003-52-256.]

344 [Repealed 2003-52-256.]

344.1 [Repealed 2003-52-256.]

345 to 351 [Repealed 2003-52-256.]

Forest land

352 (1) Despite this Act or the Community Charter, land in a municipality that is forest land as defined in the Assessment Act must be so classified by the assessor and assessed under that Act, but taxed under section 197 (1) (a) [municipal property taxes] of the Community Charter.

(2) The exemption provided by section 15 (1) (l) of the Taxation (Rural Area) Act applies to land in a municipality, but section 131 (2) of the School Act applies for the purposes referred to in section 197 (1) (b) [property taxes for other bodies] of the Community Charter.

Taxation of certain utility company property

353 (1) In this section:

"utility company" means an electric light, electric power, telephone, water, gas or closed circuit television company;

"specified improvement" means an improvement of a utility company that is

(a) a pole line, cable, tower, pole, wire, transformer, equipment, machinery, exchange equipment, main, pipe line or structure, other than a building,

(b) erected or placed in, on or affixed to

(i) land in a municipality, or

(ii) a building, fixture or structure in or on land in a municipality, and

(c) used solely in the municipality or a group of adjoining municipalities by the company for local generation, transmission, distribution, manufacture or transportation of electricity, telephonic communication, water, gas or closed circuit television.

(2) A utility company that is carrying on business in a municipality in which it has specified improvements must be taxed annually by the municipality at the rate of 1% as follows:

(a) for a telephone or closed circuit television company, on the gross rentals received in the second preceding year from its subscribers for telephone or television service located in the municipality, including telephone interexchange tolls for calls between exchanges in the municipality;

(b) for any other utility company, on the amount received in the second preceding year by the company for electric light, electric power, water or gas consumed in the municipality, other than amounts received for

(i) light, power or water supplied for resale,

(ii) gas supplied for the operation of motor vehicles fueled by natural gas, or

(iii) gas supplied to any gas utility company, other than a government corporation as defined in the Financial Administration Act or a subsidiary of a government corporation.

(3) Tax under subsection (2) is subject to the same remedies and penalties as taxes under Part 7 [Municipal Revenue] of the Community Charter.

(4) A utility company liable to tax under subsection (2) must

(a) by October 31 in each year, for the purpose of determining the tax payable in the next year, file with the collector a return of the revenue referred to in that subsection that was received in the preceding year, and

(b) pay the tax imposed under subsection (2) in accordance with Division 10 [Property Tax Due Dates and Tax Notices] of Part 7 of the Community Charter.

(5) As an exception to subsections (2) and (4), in the case of a company to which this section applies for the first time in the municipality,

(a) the company must pay the tax imposed under subsection (2) in the second year of its operation on the basis of revenue earned in the first year, and

(b) the report of revenue earned in the first year must be filed before May 8 of the second year of operation.

(6) Tax imposed on a utility company under subsection (2) is in place of tax that might otherwise be imposed on the specified improvements under section 197 (1) (a) [municipal property taxes] of the Community Charter, and taxes may not be imposed under that provision on the specified improvements although they may be imposed on those improvements under section 197 (1) (b) [property taxes for other bodies] of the Community Charter.

(7) For certainty, all land and improvements of a utility company in a municipality, other than specified improvements, are subject to tax under section 197 [annual property tax bylaw] of the Community Charter.

Section Repealed

354 [Repealed 1999-37-97.]

Sections Repealed

355 to 358 [Repealed 2003-52-260.]

Part 10.1 – Regional District Fees, Charges and Interest

Sections Repealed

359 [Repealed 2003-52-262.]

359.1 to 359.3 [Repealed 2003-52-262.]

360 [Repealed 2003-52-262.]

360.1 [Repealed 2003-52-262.]

361 [Repealed 2003-52-262.]

361.1 to 361.9 [Repealed 2003-52-262.]

362 [Repealed 2003-52-262.]

Imposition of fees and charges

363 (1) A board may, by bylaw, impose a fee or charge payable in respect of

(a) all or part of a service of the regional district, or

(b) the use of regional district property.

(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a bylaw under this section may do one or more of the following:

(a) if the bylaw is in relation to an authority to provide a service or regulate outside the regional district, apply outside the regional district;

(b) base the fee or charge on any factor specified in the bylaw, including by establishing different rates or levels of fees in relation to different factors;

(c) establish different classes of persons, property, businesses and activities and different fees or charges for different classes;

(d) establish terms and conditions for payment, including discounts, interest and penalties;

(e) provide for the reduction, waiving or refund of a fee or charge if, as specified in the bylaw, a person

(i) has already paid towards the costs to which the fee or charge relates,

(ii) does not require the service to which the fee or charge relates,

(iii) no longer undertakes the activity or thing for which a licence, permit or approval was required, or

(iv) has prepaid towards the costs of the service to which the fee or charge relates and use of the service by the person is discontinued;

(f) establish fees for obtaining copies of documents that are available for public inspection.

(3) As an exception, a board may not establish a fee or charge under this section

(a) in relation to Part 3 [Elections] or 4 [Other Voting], or

(b) in relation to any other matter for which another provision of this Act specifically authorizes the imposition of a fee or charge.

(4) A regional district must make available to the public, on request, a report respecting how a fee or charge imposed under this section was determined.

Interest calculation

363.1 A regional district may, by bylaw, establish the manner in which interest is calculated if

(a) this or another Act provides a requirement or authority to apply interest to an amount owed to, or owing by, the regional district, and

(b) the manner in which interest is calculated is not otherwise provided for.

Special fees and charges that are to be collected as taxes

363.2 (1) This section applies to the following:

(a) regional district fees or charges imposed under this Act for work done or services provided to land or improvements;

(b) fees imposed under section 726 (1) (b) [fire and security alarms systems];

(c) amounts that a regional district is entitled to recover for work done or services provided to land or improvements under any provision of this Act that authorizes the regional district to recover amounts in the event of default by a person.

(2) If an amount referred to in subsection (1) is due and payable by December 31 and is unpaid on that date,

(a) the amount is deemed to be taxes in arrear,

(b) the regional district financial officer must promptly, after December 31, forward a statement showing the amount of the fee or charge

(i) to the Surveyor of Taxes in the case of real property that is not in a municipality, or

(ii) to the applicable municipal collector in other cases, and

(c) the Surveyor of Taxes or collector must add the amount of the fee or charge to the taxes payable on the property.

(3) If an amount is added to taxes under subsection (2) (c),

(a) the amount is deemed to be a Provincial or municipal tax, as applicable, and must be dealt with in the same manner as taxes against the property would be under the Taxation (Rural Area) Act or the Community Charter, and

(b) when it is collected, the Minister of Finance or collecting municipality must pay the amount to the regional district to which it is owed.

(4) If an amount is added under subsection (2) (c) and is not paid at the time the property is sold by tax sale,

(a) if the upset price is obtained at the time of the tax sale, the minister or municipality referred to in subsection (3) must pay out of the proceeds of the sale the amount due under this section to the regional district to which it is owed, or

(b) if the upset price is not obtained and subsequently the property is sold, the proceeds of the sale must be applied according to the respective interests in the upset price.

(5) Despite subsections (2) to (4), the regional district to which the amount is owed may bring action in a court of competent jurisdiction to recover that amount.

Special fees and charges that are liens against property

364 (1) This section applies to amounts that are referred to in section 363.2 [special fees and charges that are to be collected as taxes].

(2) An amount referred to in subsection (1)

(a) is a charge or lien on the land and its improvements in respect of which the charge is imposed, the work done or services provided,

(b) has priority over any claim, lien, privilege or encumbrance of any person except the Crown, and

(c) does not require registration to preserve it.

(3) An owner of land or real property aggrieved by the creation of a charge or lien under this section may, on 10 days' written notice to the regional district, apply to the Supreme Court for an order that the charge be removed or that the amount for which it was imposed be varied.

(4) On an application under subsection (3), if the court is satisfied that any of the amount for which the charge or lien was created was imposed improperly, it may order that the charge or lien be removed or that the amount be varied, or make another order it considers proper.


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