The province is holding off on proposed changes to pipeline valuations after pushback from municipalities that said the move would result in millions in lost tax revenue.
Finance Minister Brenda Bailey issued a brief statement on Thursday, confirming that B.C. Assessment’s new pipeline valuation model will not take effect in 2026.
“I know communities have been worried about the proposed changes on pipeline valuations from BC Assessment. Any risk of a big tax burden shifting to residents and small businesses is something I take seriously,” said Bailey.
“After further consideration and my discussions with BC Assessment, I can now confirm that BC Assessment’s regulated rates valuation model for pipelines will not change for the upcoming 2026 Assessment Roll Year — a decision I support,” she said.
The process to redevelop the cost model used to evaluate pipelines began in 2016, after calls from the industry. The changes by B.C. Assessment would have decreased pipeline tax values by up to 30 per cent in some areas next year.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) and other municipalities raised concerns earlier this fall about the short notice given for the changes. The TNDR board said they only found out about the proposed valuation changes in mid-September, while the B.C. Assessment board was due to give final approval in December.
The board said municipalities would be forced to make up the gap in tax revenues by shifting those taxes to residential and business properties, noting areas with smaller populations would be particularly impacted.
“The TNRD would have seen residents and businesses have to make up $1 million in lost pipeline revenue through increased taxation if the change had gone through,” said board chair Barbara Roden.
The board said Wednesday they were notified that pipeline tax values within TNRD boundaries will instead be increasing by about seven per cent in 2026.
Kamloops Centre MLA and finance critic Peter Milobar celebrated the decision to step back from the changes, but questioned how the proposal made it so far.
“Municipal leaders were not consulted, yet they were expected to absorb the consequences of a decision that would have delivered significant tax relief to billion-dollar pipeline companies while everyday British Columbians paid the price,” said Milobar in a statement.
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