Executive committee asks for report on options for tax exemptions for Regina daycares

After nearly four months, a proposal looking to give tax exemptions to non-profit groups in Regina came back to an executive committee Tuesday, with some minor tweaks.

Licensed daycare centres are still excluded from the policy, but that could change as the committee wants to look at more options.

The proposal on tax exemptions for non-profit groups follows two consultation sessions and a survey. The most recent version extends eligibility to the Royal Canadian Legion but retains a $1.2-million cap on exemptions.

Several groups presented during the meeting asked to be included, but the biggest push came from non-profit licensed daycares.

“I think we all want to see a brighter future for our city. I don’t know about you, but for me, that includes a strong daycare sector,” Colleen Schmidt, board member of the Cathedral Area Co-operative Daycare said during her presentation.

Cathedral Area Co-operative Daycare is one of five child-care centres that saw their taxes spike in 2016 after their assessment status was changed from residential to commercial.

While a tax exemption won’t mean more child-care spaces, Schmidt says it would help in other areas, including making daycare more affordable.

For now, the executive committee has asked for a report looking at several options regarding tax exemptions for licensed daycares.

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“There are three or four options to look at including leaving it as it is now which would be no exemption,” Mayor Michael Fougere said.

One option includes creating a sub-class which would put licensed daycares in a separate category. But the mayor says the non-profits will have to be clear what they will do with the money they would save from an exemption, which will likely be part of a consultation process.

“We all want to support them, but the regulation of daycares is not a city responsibility, it’s not our job to do that. We can support them as a policy objective, but not to make them more profitable.”

For now, tax exemptions for licensed non-profit daycare centres are being treated as a separate issue. The Community Non-Profit Tax Exemption policy will go before council on Dec. 17.