Vancouver property tax hike proposal comes at ‘worst possible time’: Canadian Taxpayers Federation
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is asking Vancouver city council to go back to the drawing board and reconsider its proposed 9.7 per cent property tax hike.
The CTF says should the increase pass in the upcoming budget, taxpayers will be left in an even more difficult situation amid affordability challenges.
B.C. Director Carson Binda says Metro Vancouver is already unaffordable enough, adding there is an unprecedented demand on food banks.
「We』re seeing just extraordinary waste at a time when politicians are passing the buck onto taxpayers instead of doing the hard work of looking through their budgets and looking for opportunities to trim fat,」 he explained.
Council』s draft budget says the tax increase is needed to pay for policing services and for funding across the city. Part of the funds would go toward paying for the 100 new Vancouver Police officers and 100 new mental health workers — a major pillar of ABC Vancouver and now-Mayor Ken Sim during the 2022 municipal election.
Should it pass, the CTF says the city would be leaving taxpayers on the hook for an operating budget that is much higher than other years.
「We need politicians, both in Vancouver and south of the Fraser, asking if we really need all these big, big spendings right now when they』re simultaneously raising property taxes and tax payers are tapped out, frankly,」 said Binda.
In November, the City of Vancouver』s draft budget suggested a property tax increase of five per cent to help make up money needed to fund ABC and Sim』s plan for more officers and mental health workers. That came after information was gathered by staff during preliminary budget discussions at city all.
The proposed hikes are despite previous suggestions from Sim and his party that the money needed for the plan would come from 「reprioritizing」 funding for certain budget items, and not increases to taxes.
However, the CTF says the increases, no matter the amount, come at a bad time.
「Canadians are skipping meals to save money. This is the worst possible time to be jacking up taxes and making life more unaffordable for Canadian families,」 Binda said.
While Vancouver city council is set to hear from the public on the 9.7 per cent increase next week, with a vote expected in March, it』s not the biggest hike being proposed in the Lower Mainland. In Surrey, city council is proposing to raise property taxes by 17.5 per cent this year, with more than half of the increase earmarked for paying for the police transition.
resource &^ photo:CityNews
