The municipality’s appeal of the tax classification of four Whistler condo-hotel properties was wrapped up within hours at a B.C. Assessment Appeal Board hearing Tuesday, Dec. 12.
Three days had originally been set aside for the hearing.
The RMOW was appealing the B.C. Assessment Authority’s recent decision to downgrade the tax classification of the Marriott, Alpenglow, Timberline and Cascade Lodge from commercial (Class 6) to residential (Class 1).
The re-classification represents annual tax savings of around $1,500 to $2,000 per unit for the owners, but it also means a shortfall of about $450,000 in tax revenue for the municipality.
The Assessment Appeal Board said that it could take another three months before a decision is handed down.
If the appeal board rules to uphold the residential tax classification, the municipality could, in turn, appeal that decision at the B.C. Supreme Court level.
