The article, which was written by Tom MacDonald in Victoria, was not at all concerned with Lake Country business or the Lake Country Chamber. It was a general reflection on the economic crisis and reactions to it, including some from a number of local government officials.
The issue in the
article was about the continuous reports from the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business (CFIB) about businesses being taxed too much by local
governments and statements by CFIB with respect to the value-for-money from
local governments in general. The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) has tried
to counter CFIB claims (for a copy of the UBCM report on CFIB claims please go
to Comments
on Fiscal Management in BC Municipalities) and I did have some discussion with provincial staff on the Premier’s
position about local governments. In my opinion, CFIB comments are one sided.
There are not only issues with local governments taxation systems, if you wish,
but also with the way both federal and provincial governments are dealing with
the economic crisis and the impact (or not) on the work force and the
taxpayers. Having said that, I believe that:
·
The 2008
bailout was wrong and created a bigger gap between the middle class and big
corporations. In fact the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ which the article talks about
was a reaction to the way the bailout money was utilized;
·
The small
and medium businesses came out with the short end of the stick in the current
economic crisis;
·
The issue
of taxation is real for business and residential taxpayers alike but small
business is also struggling more than others because of the economic crisis and
cannot afford more taxes and rightly questions the value-for-money for the
services they receive (or not) from local governments;
·
All
taxpayers are reaching a capacity limit in what they can pay to sustain
community and all governments services;
·
We need to
work together to find solutions. Conflictual positions do not help.
In Lake Country we need more business and more
economic growth. We cannot be sustainable on residential tax base only. It just
does not work. In addition, the existing businesses cannot afford to pay more
or they will collapse. Furthermore, I know and I appreciate much of the hard
work and countless volunteer hours that members of the business community and
the Chamber provide to Lake Country. I don’t think a community could really be
such without those contributions.
I understand the
issues the District of Lake Country is facing and I will continue to work with
all stakeholders to make our community an even better place for residents,
tourism and business investment. As a supporter of economic development, I will
continue to make an effort in cutting back our budget to relieve the taxpayers
of unnecessary tax increases, and I am confident the new Council will make the
right decisions for the community on this. The vision is there and I will
pursue it with vigor. Finally, I also hope that we can all support the efforts
of our good District staff, recognizing that adjustments need to be made to the
organization and work together to make those adjustments. Cooperation is the
key and our partnership with the Lake Country Chamber of Commerce and other
important stakeholders in the community will be critical to accomplish our goal
of creating a unique place to live.
adf
No comments:
Post a Comment