City of Penticton’s tax exempt list grows

PENTICTON – Penticton’s list of tax exempt properties is getting longer, and costlier.

Penticton city council approved the permissive tax exemption amendment bylaw at yesterday’s council meeting, Sept. 18, granting $415,115 in tax exemptions to non-profit organizations in the city.

Applicants must be in good standing under the provincial government's Societies Act, in addition to being able to provide financial information indicating financial hardship would be experienced if not for the exemption. Applications are approved for a three-year period, after which the applicant must reapply.

Exemptions from the last three-year period, which ends in 2019, adds an additional $116,076 in tax exemptions from the city for total of $531,191 for 2019.

In a report prepared for council, revenue supervisor Amber Coates said two new applicants — Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen and Penticton and District Society for Community Living — added an additional $30,000 to the exemptions list this year a “significant combined ask.”

The Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans in Canada or ANAVETS dissolved their local unit this year and did not request an exemption this year.

A total of 98 applications were received for the 2019 exemption. The housing category costs the city the most in foregone taxes at $159,151, with Sports and Recreation ($96,948) and Community Wellness ($76,651) second and third.

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