Property taxes are a means of raising revenue to support services offered to the general public by local government and can take many different forms including parcel taxes, frontage taxes and assessment based (ad valorem) taxes. The method of taxation selected depends on the type of service being provided and whether the benefit to properties is uniform or varies according to size, value or other characteristics.
The cost of Regional District services may be shared between several municipalities and electoral areas according to an agreed upon formula contained in the service establishment bylaw. Following adoption of the annual financial plan each municipality is provided with a requisition invoice which includes that municipality’s share of all Regional District services. The service participation costs for electoral areas are sent to the Province of British Columbia for inclusion in the rural tax notices provided annually to property owners in unincorporated areas.