A McBride area farmer is facing a skyrocketing tax bill after B.C. Assessment reclassified his property to residential following a series of calamities and circumstances that prevented him from working his land for the last few years.
Flooding, a broken ankle, the death of his mother, an inability to sell what he had already produced and simply getting older prompted Vern Pawsloske to take a break for the last three years from growing hay on his 100-hectare (250-acre) property about 10 km east of McBride.
As a result, he failed to meet the criteria the provincial government has set out for maintaining the farm classification and the significantly lower property tax bill that comes with it. Previously valued at $25,227, it's now assessed at $405,200 with the new classification and Pawsloske is predicting he'll pay plenty more than the $250 or so in property tax he shelled out last year.
