Quote:
Originally Posted by ssiguy
Perhaps property taxes are a fairer way to go.
The wealthy live in WestVan/Westside etc and they will have to pay more which only seems fair. The poor/low income are far more likely to rent so the property taxes will have little effect on them. They will be passed down thru rent increases but we have rent control so it wouldn't make any difference.
What I also never liked about the plebiscite was how Translink and the mayors were manipulating the conversation and using threats against people in the Valley. "If you don't vote for the transit taxes you won't get LRT in Surrey" is their bargaining position which again is categorically unfair.
Did Vancouver/Burn/NW have to an extra tax for the Expo Line? Did Burn/Van have to pay extra tax for the M-Line? Did Richmond/Van have to pay any extra tax for the Canada Line? Did the TriCities/PM/MR have to pay an extra tax for the WCE? Are the Tri Cities paying an extra tax for the Evergreen Line? The answer to all those questions is of course no. But............somehow it's different for people in the Valley where we are expected to pay extra or get nothing. We have to pay extra or we get nothing but somehow that rule just doesn't apply to the rest of the region.
It is this kind of gross inequity that has people infuriated which is why I am increasingly leaning towards the NO side. I have NO problem with special transportation taxes but they must be applied fairly which they are not.
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As mentioned above, property value isn't an indicator of wealth. With the amount that property values all over the region have risen in the past decade, it's very possible for a legitimately middle class family to now be in possession of a million-dollar home.
I'd say a sales tax is actually a fairer way of taxing the rich more and taxing the poorer less. The more stuff you buy and the more expensive it is, the more tax you pay. So all those rich people you talk about would pay much more tax, what with their Holt Renfrew shopping sprees and weekly dinners at the Keg, while lower-income earners would pay much less in tax due to their more limited disposable income.
The Broadway subway won't happen without this tax either. It's just so happened that all these various projects are needed right now, which is why they need a tax to pass them. If the Broadway subway wasn't needed for another 10 years and the Surrey skytrain wasn't needed for another 25 years after that, there would be no talk of an additional tax. This has nothing to do with any bias against Surrey.
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