I find that our whole system of property taxation relative to house price is an unjust and extremely prejudicial formula.
Now, before I go on, no I am not a millionaire campaigning for the rich. I am a senior living on a one-pension income with my wife. If I lived in a rundown house that I did nothing to and my neighbour lives in a beautiful home that he maintains nicely worth four times the amount, why should he pay more than me? Do we not both pay for exactly the same services? He doesn’t get better policing and fire. He doesn’t get better water and street services. He doesn’t get better public schooling etc. If I had some company come to cut my grass or replace my gutters or doing plumbing or electrical I would expect the same pricing formula as my neighbour in the nice house.
Taxation should be based on what the municipality’s budget is and distributed evenly among all involved in paying for those particular services. Now if my taxes go up too much because of this formula because the rich are subsidizing my lower taxes, then forget everything I said ha ha.
Evan Begbie
Cowichan Bay