The 2% Solution

[newflyer]

Originally Posted by rgalston

No doubt.

I still say we should raise the PST by 4 percent and make Winnipeg the best city in the world.

No .. no ... increase it by 20% .. than Winnipeg would become the next Rome. I can't believe nobody has come up with this brilliant idea before!! Increase taxes... WOW!!

Yeah great idea .... hey I have an even better idea, why doesn't David Asper just buy all the moving van companies, as it will be a big business when Winnipeg and Manitoba revert back to being the among the most anti-business places in North America, as the population outflow will be back in full strength again.

[rgalston]

Twenty percent would give us the ordered beauty of Paris along our downtown riverfront. But at thirty... thirty and we would have a business district similar to Midtown Manhattan circa 1928. At forty, we could be Athens circa 400 B.C.

Or at least get some new corny streetscaping along a dead Portage Avenue.

[Reed Solomon]

instead of a tax, Winnipeg should get the rest of north america to pay us a tribute. It doesn't have to be money necessarily. Wisconsin can send us cheese, Saskatchewan can send us wheat/potash, Alberta can send us Oil. All we need is some sort of doomsday device that we can hold the rest of north america hostage with. Then we can build a giant octopus shaped tower in the middle of the exchange district. We can call it the octotower and when you're at the very top of the tower theres video games and sofas and you can look down upon Winnipeg as if you were going to destroy it like the aliens in war of the worlds. Also it should be painted sky blue so that airplanes need to pay an octotower avoidance tax not to collide with it.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Basing economic well-being on anything named COD is a bad idea. Trust me.

[rgalston]

Originally Posted by Reed Solomon

...Then we can build a giant octopus shaped tower in the middle of the exchange district. We can call it the octotower and when you're at the very top of the tower theres video games and sofas and you can look down upon Winnipeg as if you were going to destroy it like the aliens in war of the worlds. Also it should be painted sky blue so that airplanes need to pay an octotower avoidance tax not to collide with it.

Give it compostable toilets and a rooftop garden, and you have every recent architecture grad's thesis project.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by rgalston

Give it compostable toilets and a rooftop garden, and you have every recent architecture grad's thesis project.

Or make a ball out of clear scotch tape, drop it on the floor and step on it a couple of times and call it Antoine Predock's work!

[swolfe]

Originally Posted by flatlander

I wish Mr. Asper would landscape his parking lot north of the Canwest building. Just paving stones and trees of course, so that when it gets developed the materials can be recycled.

My co-worker just got notice that her parking will be going up another $10 to $160 per month in that lot. They must be throwing down some fresh gravel to justify the hike.

[newflyer]

Originally Posted by swolfe

My co-worker just got notice that her parking will be going up another $10 to $160 per month in that lot. They must be throwing down some fresh gravel to justify the hike.

On the plus side .. increasing price for parking means there is rising demand, which is a good thing for downtown. More people living, working, shopping or visiting all add up to more high demands for parking. Of course this can be offset by increasing the amount of parking spots downtown.

All in all $160 is still a huge bargain compared to many other cities, especially in the core of downtown. For example a spot at Bankers Hall, in Calgary, runs well over $400 per month, and thats if you are lucky enough to get one. I'd take the $160 price any day of the week. Of course if parking in Winnipeg ran for $400 a month there would be a much higher demand for transit alternatives.

[Kinguni]

Originally Posted by swolfe

My co-worker just got notice that her parking will be going up another $10 to $160 per month in that lot. They must be throwing down some fresh gravel to justify the hike.

$72.80 for a bus pass!

[1ajs]

Originally Posted by Kinguni

$72.80 for a bus pass!

hm 72.80 vs 160 no brainer o and don't forget 1200-3000 a year for car insurance then 100-400 a month for car payment...

[vid]

Originally Posted by newflyer

On the plus side .. increasing price for parking means there is rising demand, which is a good thing for downtown.

Or they raised the price to deal with inflation or higher taxes.

[swolfe]

Originally Posted by Kinguni

$72.80 for a bus pass!

We're part of the eco-pass program, so we get subsidized passes for $50. She's actually taken it a step further. She started riding her bike to work for the summer. Free.

Unfortunately it doesn't work for everyone. Some people do need to drive to work for various reasons. I realize that parking is much more expensive in other cities, but a 7% hike for no other reason than 'because we can' irks me.

... but mostly because I want that ugly lot to die a miserable death (and be re-born as a highrise ).

[DowntownWpg]

For those of you guys that have a big problem with surface lots downtown... I'd assume you're opposed to 150,000 sq feet "business parks" out in the suburbs. Right?

[vid]

The business parks in downtown are a big part of downtown being as void of life as it is today. I can't speak for Winnipeg but over 2,000 office workers work in Balmoral Park here, even if you split them between each downtown that would be a major boost to the neighbourhoods.

Balmoral Park would then be free to revert to its natural swampy state.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by DowntownWpg

Wonder, though, wouldn't a 2% MST that exists only in Winnipeg's boarder, only mean that more business, retail, etc, will setup shop just outside of the city? People would certainly rather make big purchases out there then.

If I were in charge I would make the 2% MSP apply to all areas in the Winnipeg Capital Region, and then return to each community their share of the tax.

This would prevent people from driving to Selkirk or Lockport for a better deal.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by DowntownBooster

Why should only those that own property be burdoned with the tax? A sales tax is more appropriate because those who are making purchases (and supposedly able to afford to make purchases) with their own disposable income have the option whether to make purchases or not. Why should those on a fixed income and don't go out much, thereby using less infrustructure, be penalized so that those who do use the roads with their cars can continue to do so and have someone pay for the upkeep. That makes no sense. A consumption tax like the GST & PST makes a lot more sense than either property taxes or income taxes because at least it's up to each individual whether they want to spend or not.

I think you're right on the money DowntownBooster..

A growth tax like Asper's proposed PST is the most equitable tax of all since it's entirely based on consumption.

The rich buy more, they would pay more. The poor buy less, they would pay less.

And best of all, like choosing to throw a coin into a VLT this would be an entirely voluntary tax. Something that property tax isn't.

At the same time, it would give the city an added incentive to keep economically competitive since Winnipeg and its surrounding municipalities would stand to reap 2% of whatever new growth occurs.


In any case, this is hardly a new idea. Glen Murray et al have been preaching about this for years.

[jmt18325]

A tax for the whole province that only serves Winnipeg wouldn't go over well.

[Only The Lonely..]

Originally Posted by jmt18325

A tax for the whole province that only serves Winnipeg wouldn't go over well.

No it wouldn't.

That's why you make it only for the Winnipeg capital region and give back to the municipalities their portion of the revenues collected.

[jmt18325]

I don't think that's allowed under provincial law or the constitution or some such.

[vid]

In the US, municipalities have the ability to levy sales taxes. I think all of Canada would benefit from this ability. Allow the municipality to decide whether or not they want to levy the tax, and how much the tax should be, depending on their needs. For Winnipeg it might be 2%, for Brandon 1.5%, etc.

If this isn't allowed under the constitution or provincial law, then whichever legal text is preventing it should be changed.