Taxes – Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria

Be wary of wonky and wicked municipal taxation

Team Grumpy Taxpayers — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 16:25:41 +0000

All is fair in love and war, and, it seems, municipal taxation.

To illustrate, here are a few stories about local taxation that we find wonky and wicked and worthy of a vigorous head scratch.

Be wary of municipal taxes that are egregious.

The several years of turmoil around efforts to fund the ’94 Commonwealth Games is enlightening given talk of hosting again in 2026.

Efforts were made to raise money through hiking business taxes, hotel taxes, recreational fees, sponsors, and so on. But the biggest uproar was sparked by trying to assess a Commonwealth Games levy on municipal property taxes from 1990 to 1994.

When the City of Victoria collected this levy in 1990 to be held in reserve for Games-related costs in 1994, the BC Supreme Court ruled the city contravened the Municipal Act.

Eventually about 20,000 property owners got a credit on their 1991 tax bill to make up for the illegally collected levy. But ouch, the credit was only half the amount collected as only half the levy was ruled illegal, reports the Times Colonist on Apr. 12, 1991.

Be wary of municipalities that approve expenditures several months after spending the money.

Most B.C. municipalities – Vancouver manages to draft their budget by year end – approve their annual budget closer to the Mar. 31 deadline.

The C.D. Howe Institute, widely considered to be Canada’s most influential think-tank, takes a dim view of the practice in its annual report card on the finances of the country’s 31 large municipalities.That excludes Greater Victoria thanks to its balkanized governance structure.

Be wary of the practice of collecting an unspecified, hidden tax.

Destination Greater Victoria, one of the worthy beneficiaries of the municipal taxes, is transparent about hotel taxes if you happen to drill into its website. But, some hotels list the charges on your bill as ‘other,’ not bothering to give any details.

For hotel rooms, there’s a PST of eight and GST of five per cent. But there’s also a Municipal and Regional District Tax (MRDT) of three per cent that will be assessed. Depending on the hotel, you may be assessed an additional Destination Marketing Fee (DMF) of one per cent as well.

It all adds up, especially when you don’t know about it.

Be wary of smaller municipalities that are subsidized by next door neighbours in larger municipalities.

We all love Metchosin, but their big city cousins support that bucolic charm.

As a community of less than 5,000, total policing costs amounted to $240,000 in 2019, thanks to subsidies. That’s four per cent of their total budget, the lowest in the region.

By comparison, nearby Victoria spends $48.6 M or 23 per cent of their budget on policing, Saanich spends $32.2 M or 16.0 per cent, and Esquimalt spends $8.2 M or 22.9 per cent.

In 2019, Metchosin received about $1.1 M (for municipal purposes) in lieu of taxes, most of which is for federal government properties including William Head prison, Rocky Point Ammo Dump (DND), Mary Hill Battery (DND), and Mount Helmcken Radar Site (MOT).

It also received a provincial Small Community Grant which is unconditional, intended to augment the operating budgets of small municipalities in B.C. It received $526,241, or 9.6 per cent of 2019 expenditures of almost $5.5 M.

This is all about to change: The province is gradually shifting all of the cost for E-Comm 9-1-1 service to RCMP-serviced municipalities like Metchosin. Now that the RCMP is unionized, staffing costs are also increasing substantially.

Be wary of the wicked taxation brought on by the new assessment policy in B.C.

It uses the ‘highest and best use’ approach in determining property value. If for example, you own a corner store downtown – where a skyscraper would fit in nicely – your property taxes are closer to a skyscraper than a corner store.

The concept of valuing properties as if they are ready for development tomorrow is inappropriate for property taxation purposes. It’s been a wicked windfall for the municipality.

The province finally understood the implications of this taxation policy and provided a partial solution through the interim Business Property Tax Relief Exemption. Owners though have had to pass on substantial tax increases to any tenants.

In our view, we don’t need to pay more municipal taxes post-pandemic to balance the books, deal with increased debt and retain quality services. A much better alternative is to aggressively consolidate services to get better value for our tax dollars.

It’s municipal budget time across the region, so be wary of how many pockets your local politicians decide to pick to pay the bills.

Available for Media Interviews:

John Treleaven, Chair, Grumpy Taxpayer$

treleavengroup@shaw.ca

250.656.7899, cell 250.588.7899

Stan Bartlett, Past-chair, Grumpy Taxpayer$

grumpytaxpayers@gmail.com

250-477-9907

Municipal taxation without representation

Stan Bartlett — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 15:25:32 +0000

Thousands of permanent residents unable to vote in municipal election

The 2018 municipal election is behind us, but thousands of permanent residents in Greater Victoria are left wondering why they were unable to vote.

According to Fresh Voices, an advocacy group for immigrants and refugees, there are 60,000 permanent residents in Vancouver alone that were unable to vote. In the 2016 Census, Stats Canada reported almost 16,000 immigrants of varying ages living just in the Victoria Census Metropolitan Area of 81,655.

“Permanent residents are engaged,” says Whitey Mitchell, a board member with Grumpy Taxpayer$ and a permanent resident. We take an interest in what is going on and we have input to give as well as a diversity of experiences to offer. I chose to live here and make my life here and want to make this place even better for myself, my friends, and my children.”

Permanent residents have the right to get most social benefits that Canadian citizens receive, including health care coverage, to live, work or study anywhere in Canada, and receive protection under Canadian law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They must pay taxes – all municipal taxes including school, plus income tax – and respect all Canadian laws at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

But until permanent residents apply for Canadian citizenship and get it – they can’t vote in any election.

Last spring the City of Vancouver council unanimously voted to extend municipal voting rights to permanent residents and is urging the province to change the laws. At the time the Vancouver Sun sounded a note of caution, describing council’s actions as a “feel-good initiative” and for the province to consider carefully “the serious implications” of any change.

According to Fresh Voices, more than 45 countries including Australia, Denmark, New Zealand and seven jurisdictions in the U.S. allow permanent residents to vote in municipal elections. Eleven jurisdictions in Canada are looking at the change.

Take time to consider extending the right to vote,Vancouver Sun Editorial, Apr. 20, 2018.

Immigrants in Victoria, The Canadian Magazine of Immigration, June, 2016.

Census Profile of Victoria CMA 2016, Stats Canada

Grumpy$ Media Award winner highlights tax exemptions

Stan Bartlett — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 01:04:45 +0000

Series prompts action by Saanich
1st Annual Media Award winner highlights non-profit and church tax exemptions

Journalist Wolf Depner of Saanich News is the winner of the 1st Annual Media Award from Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria for his stories that resulted in the municipality reviewing its permissive tax exemptions.

Non-profit organizations including religious institutions in Saanich may have to justify their permissive tax exemptions in the future as a result of the series.

“We believe it’s very important to recognize exemplary media coverage focusing on local government,” says Stan Bartlett, chair of Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria.

“Talking or writing about taxes, religion and politics in public is difficult but Mr. Depner managed to accomplish that in an informed, balanced fashion.”

His three-part series ran in September: Humanist group says Saanich taxes public purse with tax exemptions, Religious institutions in Saanich may have to justify their permissive tax exemptions, and Vancouver Islanders ponder the traditional practice of giving tax breaks to churches.

“The success of Grumpy Taxpayer$ is partly due to the media – particularly Saanich News – taking an interest in local government and recognizing its major impact on their reader’s lives.”

“In recent years, access to quality news is under threat: Media coverage of local government has been diminishing, an issue attributed to the advent of the Internet some 20 years ago, the economic downturn a decade ago, and most recently, the election of an autocratic, anti-media president in the White House,” says Bartlett.

New report finds newspaper cuts bad news for local political coverage, JSource, The Canadian Journalism Project, Sept. 26, 2018.

Newspapers matter, more now than ever, Publisher Bob Cox, Winnipeg Free Press.