A Public Good? Religious property tax exemptions in BC
Channel: BC Humanist Association
Date: 12/07/2021

In a recent report, the BC Humanist Association called on municipalities to adopt public benefits tests for tax exemptions granted to places of worship. These tests, the report states, are necessary to ensure potential recipients of tax exemptions — which total millions each year — provide services that benefit the community as a whole. This measure would provide much needed safeguards to prevent tax funds from supporting organizations that operate as private clubs, discriminate against protected groups, operate commercial enterprises, or break the laws, such as COVID-19 regulations.

To unpack this report and peel back the curtain on all the work that went into it, we hosted a live talk with our research team — Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Research Coordinator, and Adriana Thom, Policy Researcher. This event was recorded on Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

Read the report: https://www.bchumanist.ca/a_public_good
Support the BCHA: https://www.bchumanist.ca/