SALMON ARM, B.C. – A controversial tax continues to irritate some British Columbia beef producers.
A $10 per head tax on horned cattle appearing for sale was passed at a
B.C. Cattlemen’s Association meeting in 2002. Some say it hurts small producers at a time when cow prices are flat and freight and marketing costs rise.
A resolution calling for an end to the tax was tabled and will be handled by the association executive, which plans to turn the issue back to the membership for an opinion.
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“We have a democratic process and we decided to poll our grassroots membership and take it under advisement,” said outgoing association president Mark Nairn.
The issue has come up at several annual meetings with a close vote allowing the levy to continue. This year the resolution for abolition was defeated 34-30.
Alberta and Saskatchewan do not have a horn tax and some B.C. producers argue they are being charged for what is essentially a national problem.
“The bigger issue is where producers feel they were not heard,” said Margaret Hall of Vanderhoof, B.C.
