Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Property owners tell TransLink they're tired of being taxed
Transportation board holds public hearing to sound out public support for $18-million tax increase
A hearing on TransLink's plans to impose an $18-million tax increase on property owners drew about 50 people Monday night, filling only about one-third of a Burnaby firefighters hall rented for the occasion.
The hearing, the first held by the new TransLink board of directors, was aimed at finding out how taxpayers feel about an extra $18 million in property levies.
The tax increase was initially supposed to be paid by business property owners to replace a controversial parking tax, but the provincial government has since said it is up to TransLink to decide who will pay. TransLink will make a final decision by March 28.
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Achilles Foufoulas of Burnaby addresses the TransLink board at the Firefighters hall in Burnaby. About 50 turned out for the tax increase hearing.
Stuart Davis, Vancouver Sun |
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Monday's meeting lasted slightly over an hour, with about 12 speakers. Business representatives said the tax should be spread equally between business and residential property owners.
But residents said they're already being taxed too much.
"I'm getting tired. Every year, we're paying more taxes and getting less services to boot," said Burnaby pensioner Achilles Foufoulas. "The average citizen is not a bottomless pit of money."
The parking tax, scuppered by the government last year, raised $19 million in 2006 and $21 million in 2007 for roads and public transit.
TransLink chairman Dale Parker said the $18 million is needed to continue to operate and improve Metro Vancouver's road and transit system.
TransLink currently collects 53 per cent of property taxes from residents and 42 per cent from business.
The new tax is estimated to add about $13-$15 to the annual tax bill for homes assessed at $500,000, TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie said. This would cover the cost of a new SeaBus or the operation of 55 buses for a year. Operating costs have risen 93 per cent in the past seven years, he said.
"We've been getting a lot of funding from the federal government and senior government for capital but the operating costs keep going up," Hardie said.
TransLink, now overseen by the government-appointed South Coast British Columbia Transit Authority Board, had about $993 million in revenues last year.
Directors don't want to trim this year's budget to make up for the lost parking-tax revenue or turn down the power Victoria has given them to raise an extra $18 million through higher property taxes.
But Ed Des Roches, who owns clothing store Plum, said two of his businesses already pay taxes in excess of $50,000 and questioned how much this new tax was going to cost him.
"Taxing commercial properties is easy," he said. "When the transit board starts talking about property taxes I get extremely concerned about this."
Laura Jones, the Western Canada vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, said TransLink should look for things to cut in its proposed 2008 budget instead of jacking up property taxes.
If it does go ahead with the property tax increase, she said, it should be spread evenly between residential and business property owners.
But Surrey pensioner Peter Scott said he lives on $35,000 a year and questioned whether TransLink would bail him out if he couldn't pay the higher taxes on his home.
"I'm more afraid of [different levels of government] driving me into bankruptcy with tax upon tax," he said. "You're not interested in the little people, you're only interested in big grandiose plans that benefit your friends."
Until the parking tax was rescinded on Jan. 1, commercial and business property owners paid 78 cents per square metre of parking space -- a rate uniform throughout Metro Vancouver, whatever the property value.
ksinoski@png.canwest.com |
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