A provincial organization promoting secular humanism questions why B.C. communities including Saanich continue to grant tax exemptions to properties that religious groups own.
B次元官网网址淲ith the upcoming municipal elections, we think itB次元官网网址檚 a good time for residents to start talking about what they want to see in their community,B次元官网网址� said Ian Bushfield, executive director of the B.C. Humanist Association. B次元官网网址淓very municipality is facing tight budgets and councils have to make difficult decisions about how to best balance the needs of different sectors of the community.B次元官网网址�
(The statutory exemption applies to the assessed value of the building and the value of the land under the building).
Municipalities, however, may grant permissive exemptions, but only for land surrounding the building. S The largest exemption for a church went to the Salvation Army Victoria Citadel with $109,635.
Overall, Saanich granted permissive tax exemptions worth over $2.47 million to a wide variety of groups, some of which include community housing organizations with religious ties such as the Baptist Housing Society of B.C.
Compared to the overall budget, these permissive exemptions appear as cents on the dollar.
In 2017, SaanichB次元官网网址檚 total revenues totaled $198.5 million with total expenses reaching $177.5 million. Argument can also be made that religious groups receiving tax exemptions perform valuable social tasks B次元官网网址� many of which remain invisible to the larger public B次元官网网址� and that ending the exemption could harm those groups by limiting their financial breathing space.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 definitely an argument for providing public support to groups that do good work in the community,B次元官网网址� said Bushfeld. B次元官网网址淎t the same time though, weB次元官网网址檙e seeing fewer and fewer people attend church, which raises the question of the role these groups play in the broader community and whether they should continue to be subsidized by local taxpayers.B次元官网网址�
Bushfield said his organization would prefer an end to special exemptions for organizations purely on the basis that theyB次元官网网址檙e religious. B次元官网网址淪o we would support the repeal of statutory exemptions for houses of worship from the Community Charter and Vancouver Charter and believe municipalities can use different approaches for property owned by religious groups,B次元官网网址� he said. They could, for example, require them as charities and demonstrate their benefit to the community, he added.
A number of communities, for example, include Victoria require a public-benefit test before issuing permissive tax exemptions.
In 2017, churches in Victoria received $587,185 in exemptions with just over $100,000 going to the Anglican Synod Diocese of BC.
Megan Catalano, a spokesperson for the District of Saanich, confirmed that the municipality lacks a specific public benefits test. This said, council has a B次元官网网址渦se of permissive tax exemptions policyB次元官网网址� as the Community Charter requires.
Its objective is to consider exemptions B次元官网网址渋ndividually on their meritsB次元官网网址� in context with SaanichB次元官网网址檚 Strategic Plan, she said. B次元官网网址淪o while there is no specific public benefits test, [councils] in following their policy, will have considered the merits when the exemptions were approved.B次元官网网址�
The question of whether churches should receive exemptions has been simmering along for several years. Critics have not only argued along philosophical lines (like the B.C. Humanist Association), but also along commercial lines as tax-exempt groups have used their property to generate revenue.
Recent years have also seen a number of cases of religious groups losing their permissive tax exemptions because they failed in the eyes of municipal councils and Some religious leaders have long sensed these shifting winds, and suggested that it might be time to abandon what has been a long standing practice. On the other hand, municipal leaders might not appreciate the task of having to decide which institution B次元官网网址� religous or otherwise B次元官网网址� is worthy of an exemption.
