Councillors push for bingo hall tax break

A city councillor says giving Calgary’s three remaining bingo facilities another tax break will benefit dozens of non-profit and charitable organizations that rely on bingos for funds.

Next week, two councillors will introduce a notice of motion directing administration to cancel the municipal property taxes for Bingo Palace, Five Star Bingo and Pub, and the Bingo Barn, for the second year in a row, under two conditions.

The notice of motion from GianCarlo Carra and Andre Chabot calls for a tax break with the conditions each property owner must confirm in writing they will provide the benefit of the tax cancellation to the bingo, and the facilities must maintain their status as “Class ‘A’ Bingo Facilities.”

“Ultimately, who it benefits is other non-profit agencies that make use of the bingos to raise revenues. It’s not any one individual that will benefit from this,” Chabot said.

It’s the second time in less than a year that a tax break for the trio of non-profit bingos, which combine to host more than 100 charity fundraisers each year, has been before council.

Last April, councillors Carra, Chabot and Ray Jones introduced a notice of motion directing administration to consult with Bingo Palace, Five Star Bingo and the Bingo Barn and report back with recommendations and a draft bylaw exempting the facilities from municipal property taxes.

The notice of motion was approved, a report came back to the priorities and finance committee and though the committee rejected a motion to give the bingo halls a tax break in May, council approved cancelling the municipal taxes for the bingo facilities in June.

“It was a one-year exemption,” said Chabot, noting he’s hoping for another property tax exemption followed by a permanent change in the province’s rules.

The notice of motion notes bingo halls are excluded from tax exemption status under the Municipal Government Act’s Community Organization Property Tax Exemption regulation, a piece of provincial legislation that’s scheduled to soon be reviewed before the fall sitting of the Legislature.

The legislation allows municipalities to pass a bylaw exempting non-profits from paying the municipal portion of their property tax.

Before the cancellation, Bingo Barn, Bingo Palace, and Five Star Bingo would have owed a combined $171,621.54 in municipal taxes last year, according to a city report.