Core Business Areas
The ministry relies on five core business areas to achieve its goals and objectives, and deliver its services. The ministry’s organizational structure supports the delivery of the services, programs and key initiatives of each core business area. Appendix D provides an overview of the ministry’s organizational structure and primary responsibilities.
1. Small Business and Regulatory Reform
Small Business and Regulatory Reform is responsible for strategic leadership and cross government coordination of initiatives that contribute to small business growth and advance regulatory reform. This business area supports a permanent Small Business Roundtable.11 The roundtable provides ongoing advice to government on issues facing the small business community, and strategies and possible actions that will support their continued success. Working with partners and stakeholders from all levels of government and in the private sector, this business area develops proposals and implements solutions to address impediments to small business success, and provides services, products and tools to support small business start-up and growth.
This business area is also responsible for developing and implementing the province’s regulatory reform strategy. This includes providing advice and expertise to ministries to support the successful implementation of regulatory reform initiatives, maintaining the regulatory count database and producing quarterly public reports on cross government regulatory requirements. This business area represents British Columbia’s interests on federal, provincial and territorial committees and working groups, and internationally on regulatory reform initiatives with organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Approximately $3.6 million and 21 FTEs12 have been allocated to this core business area.
| 11 | The Ministry of Small Business and Revenue established the Small Business Roundtable in October 2005. The roundtable provides a forum for ongoing dialogue with the small business community across British Columbia. For more information, view online at http://www.smallbusinessroundtable.ca. |
| 12 | FTEs — fulltime equivalent employment is the estimate of a ministry’s annual staff utilization. The term fulltime equivalent is defined as the employment of one person for one full year or the equivalent (for example, the employment of two persons for six months each). |
2. Revenue Programs
Revenue Programs is responsible for administration, compliance and enforcement activities for taxes, fees and natural resource royalties for the Province. This includes audit assessments, tax refunds, and the administration of tax credit and benefit programs. Natural resource revenue administration includes the collection of royalties, freehold production taxes and resource management fees levied on the production of minerals, oil and gas. This business area promotes voluntary compliance with tax obligations and ensures that British Columbians receive the revenue they are due through quality customer service, education and compliance programs.
Approximately $45.5 million and 526 FTEs have been allocated to this core business area.
3. Revenue Services
Revenue Services provides revenue management services for the ministry, its partner ministries and their customers. This includes account management, billing, payment and remittance processing, and debt collection. This business area also manages and collects revenues resulting from invoices the Ministry of Forests and Range issues to its forest industry clients, and manages trust security deposits for tenure agreements. These services are provided through a combination of ministry staff and a private sector service provider. A key focus for Revenue Services is the management of the ministry’s alliance with EDS Advanced Solutions Inc., ensuring appropriate oversight while facilitating the success of the alliance on behalf of the ministry.
Approximately $62.2 million and 135 FTEs have been allocated to this core business area.
4. Property Assessment Services
Property Assessment Services provides advice on strategic assessment policy, participates in inter-ministry and inter-agency processes related to property assessment and taxation, and reviews and develops legislative and regulatory changes and amendments related to property assessment.
This business area administers the annual Property Assessment Review Panel program13 across the province and supports the management of the Property Assessment Appeal Board.14 These review bodies ensure that property assessments are accurate, at actual value, and are applied in a consistent manner within a municipality or rural area. Working with BC Assessment, local taxation authorities and property owners, they resolve disputes over the assessment roll.
Approximately $2.9 million and 13 FTEs have been allocated to this core business area. Costs are fully recovered from BC Assessment, appellants to the board and other organizations through agreements.
| 13 | The Property Assessment Review Panel program involves the annual appointment of approximately 240 panel members sitting on 80 panels throughout the province. The panels provide property owners in British Columbia with a first level of appeal in an accessible, affordable and equitable forum. For more information view online at http://srmwww.gov.bc.ca/clrg/parp/. |
| 14 | The Property Assessment Appeal Board is independent from the Property Assessment Review Panels, government and BC Assessment. The Board’s objectives are to resolve appeals justly and consistently, in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness and natural justice, and to complete appeals as quickly as possible, at minimum cost to all parties. For more information, view online at http://www.assessmentappeal.bc.ca/. |
5. Executive and Support Services
Executive and Support Services consists of the Minister’s Office, Deputy Minister’s Office, strategic initiatives and administration, policy and legislation, and appeals and litigation services. Key programs and services of this business area focus on the effective and efficient provision of corporate functions to assist the ministry in achieving its goals and objectives. This includes the provision of financial management, human resource services, strategic planning, performance reporting, information technology management, and legislative and policy support to all core business areas of the ministry. This business area also provides customer service and taxpayer information, administers investigative operations directed towards enforcement of provincial taxation statutes, and conducts impartial tax appeals reviews.
Approximately $39.3 million and 196 FTEs are allocated to this core business area.
Crown Agencies
The Minister of Small Business and Revenue and Minister Responsible for Regulatory Reform is accountable for BC Assessment and is charged with the administration of the Assessment Act and the Assessment Authority Act. BC Assessment operates as an independent, provincial Crown Corporation governed by a Board of Directors. Its mandate is to establish and maintain uniform real property assessments, on an annual basis, for all property owners throughout British Columbia in accordance with the Assessment Act. For more information, view online at http://www.bcassessment.bc.ca/.
