By Jessica Lepp

Concern a new operating fee is nothing but a tax grab

Jan 30, 2016 | 11:09 AM

WILLIAMS LAKE, B.C. — A Williams Lake councilor and owner of a propane business is calling a proposed provincial policy a tax grab targeting rural businesses that are heated and powered by propane.

Scott Nelson says the province is trying to implement a $38 annual fee per tank come February 1st for no real explanation.

He says the use of tanks over 80 gallons is very common in rural B.C. particularly for the resource sectors like tourism, forest and mining.

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“If there’s 50 thousand tanks in B.C. Plus $40 each, you can see it’s about a 2 million-dollar tax grab. Plus you got the business sector like forestry, mining, and tourism resort industries. There’s about another half million to a million dollars there too. That’s a 3 million dollar tax grab,” says Nelson.

Nelson says he will be making a resolution at the next council meeting in Williams Lake to ask the government to withdraw it’s tax.

Meantime the B.C. Safety Authority says the operating fee is to be paid only by industrial and commercial users, not residential.

A date has yet to be decided on when the operating fee will be implemented.