Higher taxes are result of our council

MARK-ALAN WHITTLE
Embrace change … make it work CONTACT MARK
HIGHER TAXES ARE RESULT OF OUR COUNCIL

Mountain News (Hamilton)
After reading Kevin Werner's explanation for the huge difference ($20,000) in property taxes between similar business assessments in Burlington and Hamilton, I have been left wondering why he missed the most important point of all: the real reason there is such a huge difference between these two similar assessments has more to do with the local tax rate applied by the city and region of Hamilton than the miniscule difference in education tax rates between these municipalities.
This unfair advantage afforded other communities is being addressed at an accelerated pace by the province, and rightly so. It may be easier to blame the Mike Harris government than to call a local spade a spade when it comes to usurious tax rates.
The responsibility for this unfair situation lies with the tax and spend habits of our own local government. Obviously they have failed to curb spending and have raised taxes instead of lowering them on a region wide basis. In the past, Hamilton council had regional government to blame for their wild spending and tax habits. Thanks to amalgamation, they have nobody to blame but themselves from here on in.
Mr. Werner, by design or otherwise, has done a disservice to the hardworking business owners by distorting the situation in favor of local Councillors at the expense of the Mike Harris government who had the political will to address this disparity by leveling the playing field through actual value assessment.
At the same time, the province introduced and passed into legislation the tools to correct this situation locally. All they had to do was pass on the savings by lowering taxes. Local governments admitted they have saved almost $25 million dollars. Surely, a portion of these savings, if they are real, could have been given to businesses like Lick's Restaurant, a tax break they deserve.
To this day not one government official or politician can explain what happened to these savings and why tax rates are so horribly high, compared to other responsible municipalities like Burlington.
Hamilton and District Chamber of Commerce Executive Director John Dolbec had to have made it clear where the onus for half of this problem should lie and he has provided the following tax rates for comparison.
For Commercial levies, Burlington charges 3.5 per cent whereas Hamilton charges 7.5 per cent on the same assessment. Even more alarming is the rate they charge to industrial taxpayers who have been unfairly subsidizing lower property tax rates for homeowners.
Burlington charges 4.7 per cent while a greedy Hamilton charges an obscene 7.5 per cent. Renters arid low income seniors in Burlington who are taxed at less than 1 per cent of their assessment are treated fairly by their municipal council. As a renter in Hamilton, I pay lone shark rates of 4.9 per cent of the assessed value of my two-bedroom apartment. I could easily move my family to Burlington and commute and still save money and enjoy a better quality of life afforded by their council's responsible and fair tax rates.
No wonder so many good and proper businesses have taken flight. In order for our businesses and taxpayers to prosper lower taxes are necessary. To have it any other way would be a shame.

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