By Staff
January 10th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Are taxes going to be high sky ?
Toronto property taxes will increase by 5.5 per cent, plus a 1.5 per cent increase levy for the City Building Fund in 2023, increasing the bill for the average homeowner this year by $233.
Meanwhile Burlington is working with a 7% increase that shows signs of coming in at something above the 7%
Burlington is scheduled to decide just what the tax rate will be on February 14th; appropriate.
Related news story:
What Burlington readers think about the tax rate.
2023 is NOT a year to be giving residents of Halton AND Burlington anything but a zero budget increase proposal. High interest rates, high inflation- including food, transportation and general living expenses- combined with an economic forecast for Canada and Ontario that could see 2-3 quarters of a recession does not bode well for family financials.
At a macro level, Canada’s GDP, (targeted at 2.0%) will barely see 0.5% and the BoC (Bank of Canada) lending rate, driving up all other banking rates, is 4.25% and possibly increasing even more this year. December bank lending rate was 5.95%. Mortgage rates from Canada’s 5 major banks ranges from 5.14% to 6.19%(ratehub January 2023).
Canada’s annual inflation rate was 6.8% in November (Stats Canada) but transportation grew 8.5%, food 10.3% and shelter 7.2%.
The Canadian dollar at $.75 to USD is expected to be flat in 2023.
Perhaps the most disconcerting fact is that HouseHold debt to income is at an all time high, in Canada, of 180% (vs. USA 90%)
Stats Canada is projecting that for a family of 4, annual food costs will rise over $1,000 a year to an average of $16,288.
With all of this how could any right mind government- be it federal, provincial, regional or municipal submit anything less than 0% increases for 2023. The tough economic environment in which we are in necessitates tough budget decisions. This is not just true for those on fixed incomes (where CPP and OAS are not pacing with inflation!) but for taxpayers whose incomes will likely not rise to keep pace with inflation.
I urge city councillors to make the tough call to zero out any budget increases and find ways to manage to a budget that responsibly reflects the current economic state in which ALL of us find ourselves. This may require postponing capital projects and services, re-evaluating assets and prioritize spending.
Are you ready to accept any or all of the following:- roads with potholes, snow not being cleared from sidewalks and side roads, soccer fields with long grass, shorter opening hours for arenas, etc.
All costs are going up. Yours, mine, the City’s. A zero tax increase equates to a reduction purchasing power for services and supplies the costs of which have all gone up.
Are you ok with that?
So what are you saying? If you don’t use a service like riding a bus or a bike then the rest of the population be damned?
My question would be, is the service ‘for profit’? Or ‘not for profit’? (operating at a loss), if it’s the latter then a ‘transfer of wealth’ is occurring in which the recipients of the transfer will continue to vote for it’s continuation. the more recipients of wealth transfer you have the more certain you are of remaining in power.
Maybe I was being a bit to subtle with my sarcasm. (Forget wider parking spaces how about valet parking) Personally I can well afford any increases dreamt up by a tax and spend government but to some, $200 is a lot of money I have never ever used the transit system and probably never will because it does not serve my needs, I don’t own a bicycle for the same reason in fact I don’t use many of the services this city offers other than utilitarian. The face of COB is woke an inclusive the financial reality is something else.
I use the Public Transit and Really it needs to be better
Parkling lots will not help ..
Making Burlington a more expensive place to live. Which will Make Burlington more exclusive to residents with deep pockets. Makes me wonder why we need a lot of the programs the city is currently working on. Instead of pubic transit maybe wider parking spots for our SUV,s.
David
Burlington’s taxes are not the highest and neither are they the lowest. Please see the table below which provides some perspective. I provided the table to Stephen White in response to his opinion piece.
The table below shows left to right (1) municipality, (2) 2022 population, (3) 2022 property tax paid on a house assessed at a value of $500,000, (4) estimated 2023 percentage property tax increase, and (5) 2023 estimated dollars and cents property tax increase.
Burlington, 205,000, $3,898, 7.0%, $273
Peterborough, 134.500, $7,457, 4%, $298
St Catharines, 140,000, $7,077, unavailable, unavailable
Oshawa 170,000 $6,628, 2.6%, $172
Cambridge, 125,500, $3,717, 3.93%, $146
Oakville, 211,000, $3,662, 3.40%, $124
Hamilton, 580,000, $6,226, 6.9%, $429
Toronto 2,900,000 $3,160, 7.0%, $221
Sources:- WOWA.CA & MPAC
Please don’t get sidetracked by percentage increases. A 100% increase on zero is still zero. As you can see from the table above 4% (Peterborough) represents $298. Whereas 7% (Burlington) represents $273.
There’s the old saying which is as valid today as ever it was. You pay for what you get.
If you want a first class city, and I do, then be prepared to pay for it.
Don’t get sidetracked by percentage increases? Huh?
Peterborough’s tax level is a function, in part, of the loss of major employers including Outboard Marine and General Electric. Those corporations paid a whack of taxes, and when they left so did the tax base. To maintain the tax base increases are passed along to residents. Ditto St. Catharines when GM closed, along with Ferranti Packard. The loss of tax revenue is then borne by the local ratepayers. You only have to drive along Barton Street in Hamilton to see what has happened to their industrial base. Guess who picks up the loss?
The issue here isn’t just about finances. It is about priorities. Burlington has a myriad of issues and problems that have and are not being dealt with effectively…everything from public transit through to traffic congestion to by-law enforcement. The issue is also about relativity. You can’t expect residents to accept a 7% increase when comparable jurisdictions are averaging less.
Show me the planned improvements and benefits that address the substantive issues confronting this community (i.e. not bike lanes please!!) and I for one will gladly support a 7% tax increase, but don’t trot out homilies like “if we want a first class city then we have pay for it” and expect me and others to “suck it up” just because the City says so. Evidence based decision-making is important.
Dave, all of us want a first-class city but I think it’s very instructive to start asking why Oakville–in many respects a wealthier town and very well run, not only is paying less in property taxes according to your data but is facing a tax increase in $$$ terms that is half that of Burlington. Based on some of MMW’s comments about budgeting done on earlier budgets, I strongly suspect that the budget process needs to be changed from MMW’s musings about ‘wish lists” to some rigorous line-item analysis with very tight budget constraints. Clearly, respect for taxpayers, many of whom are seniors, is NOT one of MMW’s priorities.