Coalition calls it more equitable but residential ratepayers bear 8% hike
Ashley Ford
Province
Vancouver Fair Tax Coalition’s Ed Des Roches (left) and Bob Laurie waited five years for freeze. Photograph by : Jon Murray, The Province
VANCOUVER – Vancouver business finally got a break yesterday — but homeowners will take it on the chin.
City council voted to freeze business property-tax levels for the year. The result is homeowners face an eight-per-cent tax hike this year.
Business has long argued it was shouldering a far heavier proportion of city taxes than residents, and members of the Vancouver Fair Tax Coalition were making no apologies after council’s decision yesterday.
“This is very important to us,” said Bob Laurie, vice-president of CB Richard Ellis and co-chairman of the coalition.
“We have waited five years for this, and it marks an important beginning in restoring proportionality of taxes.”
But Vision Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie slammed the Non-Partisan Association majority on council for failing to consult with the citizens of Vancouver before the tax hike was “rammed through.”
Louie said Mayor Sam Sullivan and his NPA cohorts “blatantly broke their promise” to ensure property taxes did not go up by more than four per cent.
“The NPA have jacked up property taxes over four times the rate of inflation, and they don’t give a damn what our citizens think,” he fumed.
Northwest Point Grey Homeowners Association president Phyllis Tyers said she was surprised the tax hike had been approved so swiftly.
Tyers said she will discuss the hike with members of her association to see what can be done to counter it.
“Many of us are retired, so this can amount to a lot of money. Many people living in this area are really not millionaires.”
Tyers said the tax hike would amount to hundreds of dollars in additional taxes for Point Grey homeowners.
But Ed Des Roches, vice-president of Plum Clothing and the coalition’s other co-chairman, praised council for taking the first steps in correcting what he termed a tax imbalance.
“This decision sends a very strong signal that [council] is finally going to deal with this,” he said.
“This is not a business-versus-residents situation. It is a matter of bringing in a fairer distribution of property taxes on a long-term basis.
“I hope residents understand that business has subsidized them for many years — and also hope it will now motivate them to look much more carefully at how their dollars are spent.”
The coalition, a non-partisan group, says Vancouver businesses pay $2.42 for every $1 of city services they consume. By contrast, residents pay 56 cents for every $1 of services consumed.
And it says Vancouver homeowners currently enjoy one of the lowest property-tax levels in the Lower Mainland.
© The Vancouver Province 2007