By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Court sides with Lethbridge County over feedlot head tax

May 5, 2017 | 2:09 PM

LETHBRIDGE – Feedlot operations in Lethbridge County are considering what to do next, following a court decision maintaining the County’s Business Tax, also known as a head tax.

Justice Rodney Jerke issued his ruling on Apr. 20, finding that the per-animal-unit tax is legal.

The case went before the Court of Queen’s Bench in 2016, when a group of feedlots came together, asking that the Business Tax – $3 per head in 2016 and $2.50 in 2017 – be found invalid.

While Justice Jerke allowed the Business Tax, he did find another measure – the Special Tax on farmland and grasslands – was invalid, as it was more of a general tax and the money collected was not designated towards specific projects.

County Reeve, Lorne Hickey, spoke with Lethbridge News Now about the decision, saying the Business tax is important to help cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges that are damaged and worn down by heavy use, predominantly by the agriculture industry.

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“It’s to make sure that our infrastructure is up to standard, because a lot of times, our haul roads are not quite as good as they should be,” explained Hickey. “This is to make sure that we can get the products to market that need to get there.”

Hickey added that the measure is necessary, as consistent funding from the provincial government is far from a certainty.

“For two-years it was in the budget, but it’s zero funded for local roads and bridges. Last year, [the Alberta government] announced they would pay $35-million to the [entire] province, and for 2018 it’s $65-million, so, we’ve put an application in, we have not heard back yet as to what we’re getting.”

While he recognized that the tax does mean an extra burden for cattle feeders, Hickey pointed out that it could help them save money in getting their product to market.

“This will actually allow them to haul on a non-road-ban status, so, say if you’re shipping out a load of fat cattle, you probably in most cases, will not get a road-ban on that. That saves them quite a bit of money that way, because if you’re shipping out 1,000 or 2,000 head, and you have to make a dozen extra trips or more, that adds up in the long run.”

Rick Paskal, president of Van Raay Paskal Farms Ltd., could not be reached for comment.

The group behind the application consisted of Van Raay Paskal Farms Ltd., John Schooten and Sons Custom Feedyard Ltd., Grandview Cattle Feeders Ltd., G. Thompson Livestock Co. Inc., 6a Cattle Company Ltd., Adrian Dewilde, K. Wever & Sons Farms, Monarch Feeders Ltd., 589494 Alberta Ltd.