A few days ago, I wrote, that I was dissapointed, that none of the candidates had brough forward any tax reduction proposals. Within a narrow context I can understand that. Most voters have some connection to many programs the city and region offer, and candidates, invariably, will annoy some voters, should they propose cancellation of programs/services. That is, why you get, primarily, motherhood statements like...I will make sure that taxes are spend wisely. As an aside, thats why I cant and didnt get elected, because I would annoy too many voters who just loved those programs . As I pointed out to reginal and local council during my budget presentations... you have a build in budget deficit due to the proliferation of programs which the municipal taxbase cannot and should not support . { yes I know a municipality, by law, cannot run an operating deficit }. The programs which fall into that catagory are: Business subsidies/job creation Education subsidies healthcare subsisies First, the issue of business subsidies. The municipal act prohibits the direct or indirect bonusing of any manufacturing or business, from land donations to any other form of incentives, The provincial government did this, because in the long past, municipalities would excempt manufacturing and businesses from paying taxes and gave direct cash, to entice them to locate in their municipalities. That led to numerous bankrupcies, which required the province to bail them out. Along came the planning act, wich allows municipalities to give incentives to developers in the core areas under the core area revitilisation program. Then came the Development charge act, which allows municipalities to charge development fees to defray the increased cost of providing recreational facilities, sewage treatment, transportation and other infrastructure cost, because it was recognised that the increase in assessment was inadequate to pay for the additional costs associated with the population growth. The regional airport act allows the region to directly, with cash, subsidize the airlines. Other programs and capital expenditures include the Accelerator center ,a and the high tech industrial park a co-operative project between the region, the city of waterloo and the university of waterloo. The regional and local turism budget and programs. Communitech, a promotional and job locator service for the tech sector in the region of waterloo. In addition, there are many smaller programs, wich help small business start-ups. On the educational side, the city of cambridge helped build the school of architecture and supported conestoga college. The region and the city of kitchener build the sub campus of mcmasters medical school. The healthcare subsidies included cambridges contribution to the hospital, and financial contribution to the doctors task force, and the regions contribution to kitchener hospitals. The pure capital costs of these programs is $ 146 million. The direct cash subsidies, by local and regional council, in the past ten years, amount to, approximately, $ 60 million. Irrespective of their value, and value there is, the property tax was never designed to subsidise business, build hospitals or educational institutions. In addition,the region and local councils are in direct competion, through their program offerings, with for profit and not for profit businesses and organisations. The residential property tax payer never ask for those programs and policies to be implemented. The evolutionary process was foisted on us, without due process, by municipal councillors and are now so entrenched, that, unless the province revisits the legilative permission, takes full responsibility for hospitals and educational facilities, and the tax payers demand change, it is imposible to reign in consistant increases in taxation.
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 20:42:48 +0000
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