Richmond’s Catalyst Paper (TSX:CTL) announced Wednesday that it would pay its full municipal property tax bill, or $13 million, in three of the four B.C. municipalities that it operates paper mills.
It is paying its taxes in full to Powell River, Campbell River and Port Alberni after a year-long battle to have taxes reduced in the municipalities.
It is also paying $1.5 million of a $6.5 million tax bill to the fourth municipality it operates in – the District of North Cowichan – but is withholding the rest as it seeks leave from the Supreme Court of Canada to appeal a recent court decision that upheld the municipality’s tax rates.
Catalyst has also filed an appeal regarding Campbell River’s regional district rates, which Catalyst said in a release, ignore last year’s B.C. Supreme Court order that concluded certain rates applied by the municipality were illegal.
Catalyst first filed petitions in B.C. Supreme Court last June claiming tax assessments at four of its mills were too high based on the amount of municipal services the company used.
The company lost all four of those petitions, but has continued, via the courts and negotiations with municipalities, to try to reduce its tax bills.
In April, Catalyst cut a deal with Powell River to treat some of the city’s waste in exchange for lower property taxes (See “Catalyst to cut property tax bill” – issue 1069; April 20-26).