Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2014
Source: Nanaimo Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2014 Nanaimo Daily News
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1608
Author: James Keller
Page: A9

MEDICAL POT FIRMS WON'T GET TAX BREAK FROM PROVINCE

Medical marijuana producers setting up shop in British Columbia won't 
be able to claim a lucrative property tax break designed for farms 
and other agricultural operations, the provincial government said Tuesday.

Mayors in B.C. have been warning for months that commercial grow-ops 
could get out of paying nearly 90 per cent of their property taxes if 
they're lumped together with farms, even if they're operating on 
expensive industrial land.

The province's agriculture minister, Norm Letnick, said medical 
marijuana facilities are complex industrial operations - and that's 
how they'll be taxed.

"Local governments are concerned - and fairly so - that there might 
be some extra costs associated with these facilities," Letnick said 
in an interview.

"We're talking about a federally regulated narcotic, so it's 
different than growing mushrooms or cherries or tomatoes in a greenhouse."

The debate over how to tax medical marijuana operations is happening 
as governments across the country figure out how to deal with an 
expected influx of such facilities.

New federal rules took effect in April that shift marijuana 
production to licensed commercial producers, rather than patients, 
who were previously allowed to grow their own. An ongoing court case 
has meant that some patients are still growing at home, but the 
commercial system has proceeded.

Health Canada has approved 13 producers, including five in B.C., 
though many more are expected to join them. There is no cap on the 
number of commercial growers and Health Canada is currently reviewing 
hundreds of applications.

B.C.'s property tax rules set rates based on a list of factors, 
including how the land is being used. Agricultural rates are up to 
87.5 per cent lower than other tax categories.

Some mayors were concerned that allowing medical marijuana operations 
in industrial areas to claim the farm credit would downgrade the 
value of land that is taxed at a much higher rate.

James Poelzer of Agrima Botanicals, a medical marijuana operation in 
Maple Ridge that's close to receiving final approval, said it doesn't 
make sense to consider marijuana production farming in one context 
but not in another.

"I don't really know how much closer you can get to farming or 
agriculture than growing plants," he said.

"We're not doing anything to try and exploit or avoid taxes. What 
we're doing is growing plants - that's our sole business."

The decision to consider marijuana production "farm use" within the 
Agricultural Land Reserve also means local governments will not be 
able to prevent medical pot facilities in those areas.

Some municipalities have passed bylaws banning marijuana facilities 
on agricultural land.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom