VICTORIA — B.C. municipalities will soon be unable to tax private school playgrounds, fields, parking lots and other land, under a new government bill.

The proposed legislation, introduced on the last day of the spring session Thursday, will forbid municipal governments from removing tax exemptions on auxiliary private school lands.

The land underneath an actual private school building has been tax-exempt since 1957, under government legislation.

But surrounding property, including fields, tracks, athletic centres, drop-off areas, parking lots and maintenance facilities, gets a “permissive exemption” from local property taxes that is granted annually by municipal councils.

The Ministry of Finance said the changes will “ensure independent schools that provide equivalent education to the K-12 public system will continue to receive property tax exemptions for playgrounds, playing fields, athletic facilities and other property reasonably necessary for school purposes.”

Public schools are already tax-exempt. And the changes would not apply to the City of Vancouver, where the Vancouver Charter already mandates exemptions.

The tax exemptions also don’t apply to vacant private school land, endowment land, private residences or land being held for development.

Independent schools are “delighted” with the government bill, said Peter Froese, executive director of the Federation of Independent School Associations.

“We believe that any certified school in British Columbia, be they public or independent, offering B.C. certified curriculum, should be property-tax exempt,” he said.

If the almost 300 private schools in B.C. had their auxiliary lands taxed it could cost them up to to $5 million, said Froese.

The government bill is in direct response to local councils flirting with the idea of removing tax-exempt status on private schools to generate revenue for municipal coffers.

In 2012, the City of Victoria overhauled its tax exemption policies, linking most private school tax exemptions to the level of provincial operating funds they receive — typically 50 per cent.

The small community of Lantzville — most recently in the news for mass resignations and the collapse of its council — removed the exemption entirely last year and began fully taxing the local Aspengrove international baccalaureate school. The bill is about $5,000 annually.

The District of West Vancouver debated the issue in 2012, but kept the property tax exemptions in place for Collingwood, Mulgrave and St. Anthony’s schools.

The B.C. government didn’t pass the bill before the legislature adjourned its spring session Thursday, but has left it active for a future session with the intention of alerting local governments and the public to the impending change.

NDP critic Rob Fleming said the private school deal shouldn’t occur during a time of funding cuts to public schools.

“It’s staggering to me that the government can award additional tax exemptions to private schools,” he said. “It’s a complete double standard to say public schools need to tighten their belts and slash programs while the government suggests we can afford more subsidies to private schools.”

rshaw@vancouversun.com