THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of BC Municipalities lobby the provincial government to allow tax receipts for candidates who run in municipal elections, similar to that provided to candidates who run provincially or federally.
MINISTRY OF FINANCE The province is not considering a political contribution tax credit for donations made to candidates that run in municipal elections at this time. Elections at the provincial or federal level are a contest between recognized political parties. Tax credits for political donations are considered an essential support to the party system that is, in turn, an essential element of parliamentary systems of government. Local governments, in contrast, are not set up on a parliamentary model and are non-partisan in character. Consequently, there is no corresponding rationale for tax credits for donations to individual candidates in local government elections.