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Courtesy: Bevo Farms
CITY HALL

Medicine Hat city council denies Bevo Farms tax break request

Jun 4, 2024 | 9:00 AM

A request by Bevo Farms to cancel a $745,000 tax bill with the City of Medicine Hat was denied by council on Monday.

The new owners of the former Aurora Cannabis greenhouse in Box Springs had put in a request to forgive the taxes.

Bevo Farms began growing seedlings at the former Aurora sun facility in April but the property didn’t meet the definition of a farming operation as of the end of 2023.

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There was some discussion among councillors to consider a middle ground and only charge the company partial taxes.

Coun. Allison Knodel said her opinion evolved through debate on the topic.

“I held a perspective that was about more sitting in the gray area and finding some sort of compromise,” she told CHAT News after the meeting.

However, Knodel said she understood the points made by others at the horseshoe that allowing for a tax break in this case could set a precedent for others.

“If we do it here, that means that we should apply that same mentality to other organizations,” she said.

“And if we can’t do that every time, then we shouldn’t.”