Teck has won a court victory over its Trail property assessment.
A judge has sided with the company in its dispute with the local assessor and the Property Assessment Appeal Board.
At issue was whether electrolytic tanks and dust and particulate collectors at the local smelter are “assessable improvements.” The judge agreed they are not.
However, it’s not clear from the ruling what the implications will be for the company’s tax bill. The case involved a 2024 assessment appeal board decision. The hearing was held in Vancouver last November and judgement was issued April 30 but only appeared on the BC Supreme Court website on Friday.
In an email, Jessica Yarwood, Teck’s superintendent of community and Indigenous relations, said the appeal covered property tax assessments dating back to 2019. She said the company will be discussing the decision with the City of Trail. We’ve also the city (which wasn’t named in the suit) for comment.
The decision doesn’t indicate how much money might be at stake, and the company didn’t provide a figure when asked.
The city and Teck had previously discussed a tax shift that would see the percentage of the overall municipal tax burden that the company bears reduced from 60 per cent to 50 per cent over 10 years.
City manager Colin McClure suggested the city might offer a one per cent reduction in 2026 and direct staff to work with the company on a deal to provide further shifts based on addressing things like Teck’s appeal of its property assessment and eliminating future assessment appeals.
Council decided not to begin that shift this year, although it indicated a willingness to continue discussions.
