Dear Editor,
According to Statistics Canada (2016), the consumer price index increased by 1.5 per cent between 2015 to 2016. Our property tax is expected to rise by three per cent this year, which leads me to conclude that property taxes are growing faster than the rate of inflation this year.
At the same time, there has been rampant growth in the number of building permits that have been granted and properties that have switched hands over the past few years.
If the population is growing and there is a high level of activity in the residential market, the city must be collecting more property taxes than prior to the housing boom. Densification also means more people, and more property taxes collected per city block.
Where is all of this money going? Is it an issue of funding or an issue of expenditure?
Instead of simply dealing us the bad news of increasing property taxes, at least do us the courtesy of explaining the major issues underlying this year’s budget. It’s a very ominous sign to think our city has no choice but to raise property taxes. Residents are nervous that there was no other way of managing the city’s growth. What does this mean? Is our growth not sustainable? Is the city trying to do too much and invest in more capital projects than it can afford?
It goes up by three per cent this year, and it could easily go up again next year, or the years to come. What’s stopping that?
Jackie Law
Richmond
