While I’m at the B.C. Land Summit, here are a couple of items that came in this morning, dealing with two of our more controversial issues (transportation and housing), from two of our more controversial personalities (Jordan Batemen and Bob Rennie).
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Release from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation:
TransLink Keeps Burning Through Tax Cash: CTF
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Lower Mainland drivers already pay 2nd highest gas tax on continent – 49.2 cents/L
As part of its 16th annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released new figures showing that TransLink collects an average of $1,062 in taxes every year from every household in the Lower Mainland – and is considering adding another $595 per household through potential carbon (gas) taxes, vehicle levies, property tax and sales tax hikes.
“TransLink is already widely reviled for their waste, bad decision-making and bloated executive salaries – yet Metro mayors want to give the agency even more tax money,” said Jordan Bateman, CTF B.C. Director. “Despite having what experts say is the best funding formula in Canada, TransLink burns through our money – and mayors want to give this pyromaniac even more matches.” …
With 891,336 households in Metro Vancouver, that means every household already pays an average of $1,061.78 to TransLink in taxes every year – plus hundreds more in fares and tolls if they actually use the service. But still TransLink and the regional mayors demand more.
TransLink’s own documents show that six tax increases being floated by regional mayors ahead of the coming referendum could cost another taxpayers another $530 million – potentially $594.61 more per household.
Tax increases currently being considered (and tested via Angus Reid polling) by the regional mayors include:
- Reallocation of the B.C. carbon (gas) tax – $30 million
- A new regional carbon (gas) tax – $30 million
- Increasing property tax 5% a year – $30 million
- Increasing the PST by 0.5% – $250 million
- Tolling every bridge $1 – $100 million
- $75 annual car levy – $90 million
“The mayors keep working away behind closed doors, leaving the taxpaying public completely out of their tax and spend discussions,” said Bateman. “The Lower Mainland’s ridiculously high cost of living is a talking point for virtually every mayor in the region – but they refuse to recognize their own role in driving that cost up.” …
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Bateman, of course, has no constructive recommendations, while Bob Rennie, in his annual talk to the Urban Development Institute, mixes his criticisms with helpful insights.
From the Vancouver Sun:
Metro Vancouver baby boomers sitting on $163 billion of property
Baby boomers in Metro Vancouver are sitting on more than $163 billion in mortgage-free property at a time when demand is increasing for new forms of affordable housing, real estate guru Bob Rennie said Thursday.
In his annual statistics-filled address to the Urban Development Institute, the king of condo marketers said that equity will increasingly be freed up as retirees downsize.
But with some older neighbourhoods resisting change, there is a growing affordability crisis that will make it hard for many of those baby boomers to stay in their neighbourhoods, he said. …
“This is becoming increasingly difficult in neighbourhoods like Dunbar, as an example,” he said. “Very few will be able to age in place and/or keep their kids in the neighbourhood or live close to the great grandchildren.”
He contrasted that to what he called “energy centres” such as Marine Gateway, Brentwood and Richmond Centre, where new forms of housing — from condos to townhomes — mean people can downsize and still stay in the area, and first-time buyers can afford to buy. …
“Figure it out. It’s not that difficult. If we are never going to create another single family lot in our city, where will our kids live, let alone the population increase (expected over the next 15 years)?” he said. …
Rennie noted that green elements were ranked last by new homebuyers in a survey his office conducted. At the top of the list are location and price, followed by transit and building amenities.
“First-time homebuyers are not philanthropists out to save the planet. They are buying a home,” he said.
But he also defended the city’s CAC program, which is under attack from developers as being too onerous and lacking in transparency. The UDI said developers are willing to pay their fair share, but support a provincial government opinion that Vancouver’s method of calculating amenities is wrong.
Rennie said CACs help keep property taxes down and that Vancouver’s recent change to a flat-rate fee in the Cambie corridor was an improvement.
“I do not want to see us push the topic so far that we become California and end up with our version of Proposition 13,” he said, referring to a voter-approved anti-tax measure that has made it difficult for governments to raise property taxes.
Immigration, particularly from China, will continue to fuel demand for housing, but Rennie said he is also concerned about what he views as latent racism in some communities. He said views that places like Richmond are enclaves only for Chinese people are in deep contrast to research from University of B.C. geographer Dan Heibert, who showed that there can be as many as 24 different ethnic groups in small community clusters of just 650 people.
Excessive public sector wages & benefits ought to be examined, published, discussed, put into context and/or reduced before additional taxes are raised as excessive spending is one of the core issues in MetroVancouver. Only Dianne Watt has any serious pro-business attitude and track record in MetroVan and she is leaving, possibly to federal politics in the Conservative Party, perhaps a senior minister or even PM in the future.
MetroVancouver has far too many regional governments that are also far too pro-union. Unions, overspending, excessive public sector wages and a referendum on more taxation for more transit in the region are all related, but conveniently swept under the carpet. Let’s have an open debate here on this, as without it voting ( and paying ) folks will not approve more spending !
Just out of curiosity.. how much do you think public sector employees should make?
Many should make less, depending on their position. If you work as a city planner, for example, and make $120,000/year plus benefits, then a comparable private sector job (say as an architect or design engineer) with far higher risk of layoff or the firm’s closure, usually more hours and far less benefits should pay about $160,000. But it often does not. So, if the private job pays $120,000/year then the civil servants ought to make less than $100,000, say 85-95,000 depending on the DB or DC pension (DB = defined benefit, DC = defined contribution)
Especially since 2009, the financial crisis, far too many public sector have not accounted for the risk of layoff nor for the far lower retirement returns due to a low interest rate environment. Public sector employees with defined benefit plans ought to earn about 30-40% below a similar private sector job, and public sector employees without such defined benefit pensions perhaps 20-25% below a comparable private sector job.
Since many public service jobs also work less hours, we have far too large a payroll in many government or quasi government firms like TransLink, BC Hydro, BC Ferries etc ..