Background
The Adams Lake Indian Band (ALIB) has held tax jurisdiction since 1994/95. According to section 83(1) of the Indian Act, the Adams Lake Indian Band was granted the authority to levy property taxes in order to fund local services. The Band’s first Property Taxation Bylaws and Property Assessment Bylaws were ratified by its members in 1995.
The Adams Lake Indian Band oversees seven parcels of reserve land. On November 24, 2016, the Band enacted new Property Assessment and Property Taxation Laws, which were officially registered with the First Nation Tax Commission on February 11, 2016. These Taxation Laws are available at www.fng.ca.
ALIB Reserves in Secwepemctsin and English
Cstelen #1 (Hustalen), Sq7em #2 (Squaam), Teqwups #3 (Toops), Sexqeltqin #4 (Sahhaltkum), Stequmwhulpa #5, and Sxwetsmellp #6 & 7 (Switsemalph). Total acreage in total of all reserves is 7,188 acres (2,911ha).
Taxation Procedure
The work within the taxation division of the Lands Department is centered on managing property taxation, collecting property taxes, enforcing payment compliance, and maintaining general relations with taxpayers.
ALIB is committed to ensuring fairness in all its tax assessments. Since 1994, BC Assessment, the provincial Crown corporation is responsible for valuing and reporting on 1,996,112 properties have been providing assessment services to the Adams Lake Indian Band.
The tax revenue collected is used to fund services provided by ALIB to residents on commercial properties, including fire protection, water and sewer infrastructure, road maintenance, and by law enforcement. Additionally, a portion of the tax revenue is allocated to neighboring municipalities that offer various services.
Property Class
Adams Lake Indian Band currently owns 209 leased lots categorized into property classes for taxation purposes. These include residential Class 1, utility Class 2, business Class 6, and regulated Canadian Pacific Railway Class 10. Each class of property is assigned a specific tax rate expressed as a mill rate; the amount of tax payable per dollar of the assessed value of a property. The property value is assessed by BC Assessment to determine its market value. This value, combined with the class rate, helps calculate the property tax owed. ALIB adopts the mill rates set by neighboring taxing jurisdictions. These are approved annually by the First Nations Tax Commission, which ensures that the taxation system is fair, transparent, and consistent with broader regulatory frameworks.