HA HA HA If my property assessment goes up like everyone else in town. my Taxes are unlikely to go up. HA HA HA. That is a good joke. Who makes this stuff up.
Suddenly, for no known reason, the District feels the need to "communicate" with the taxpayers. Where was this great desire for communication and understanding when this latest budget was (or should have been) debated in council chambers? What, pray tell, brings on this sudden transparency and desire to talk to the people? Hey Josie! You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you CANNOT fool all of the people all of the time.
Inaugural meeting of the TOFINO RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION
Inaugural open house and meeting of the Tofino Ratepayers Association will be held downstairs at the Tofino Legion on Wednesday,June 12. Doors open at 6pm. The Meeting will start at 7pm. Arrive early to avoid a 7pm lineup at the door and allow yourself time to become a member. Membership is free. Come and find out what the Ratepayers Association is all about. If you are a property owner or renter, you need us and we need you to join so that with a united voice, we can tell Tofino’s Mayor and Council to hold the line on taxation increases. Come and learn about the planned increases to your taxes and rents.
"necessary major projects"?? Does this list include the planning of the gardens at Monk's Park ($37,000), work in the "riparian area of Centennial Park" (a wilderness area) ($47,000), and the "updating of the district logo" ($7,000??)?, and the "festival co-ordinator's" salary? There! in just three lines, I found about $150,000.00 that's being spent on things we really do not need. How much more, besides these amounts, is being wasted or spent on things we could easily do without? Have all possible avenues toward reducing expenses and streamlining costs been examined? Every dollar saved is a dollar we don't need to borrow. Every dollar borrowed will require two, to pay it back. It's called "fiscal restraint". It happens when there's not enough money to pay the bills. That would be NOW. Proof that there's not enough money? Simple, we're going out and borrowing. Once debt gets a hold of us, the hole will only get deeper and deeper, as your taxes are used to service the debt (it's called "interest"), instead of to provide services to the community. The federal and provincial governments both pull huge portions of the tax revenue generated by tourism out of our community every year, about 95% of the total taxes collected. Tofino gets a paltry 5%.(and this includes the bed tax, that they then tell us we're not allowed to spend on infrastructure!) Then our small population is expected to pay for the infrastructure that supports this "cash cow" tourism industry. It would seem only reasonable to expect the senior levels of government to toss in an additional $10 million each to pay for the sewage treatment facility. They're pulling out about $100 million in tax revenue every year. It's a federally mandated project? Fine. Let them pay for it. Has every possible avenue regarding this possibility been exhausted? Has anyone thought about hauling the federal and provincial ministers and governments responsible in front of the national media? Being a mayor or a council member in Tofino, in 2019, is a tough job. I appreciate the many challenges involved. When the going gets tough, the tough need to step up and get going. There are other options available. Extreme tax hikes, and assumption of massive debt, is one way. If you ran your own household on these same financial principles, you'd soon find yourself broke, hungry, and homeless. Surely we can do better.
My question is about 8-10 years ago ( I might be off a few years). The PVTL was introduced it was a special tax added to our taxation to cover infastructure costs. It was introduced as a reaction to the watergate , when we ran out of water many years ago. The tax was based on how much water you consumed vs your property value. Low water users with high property values paid the most and high water users with low property values paid the least . The formula may have changed now due to our water bills structure changing but at the time I went and spoke to Nyla about it as it as I felt it was not a fair way of taxation. The PVTL should have been an equal amount to all , but regardless , I would like to know what happened to that money that was collected? It is called something else now on our tax bill, and was likely squandered away on wages and consultants and obviously no infastruture. Does anyone know how much was collected and what has happened to the money collected? Thanks!
Looking into and learning what various tax rate items have been added, removed, increased or decreased and at what times, is a good example of this kinds of things which the Tofino Ratepayers Association is interested in.
We want lots of such ideas and also interested individuals who are willing to look into them and to gather the information from whatever sources it may be available.
If you have ideas and more so, if you are actually interested in volunteering to do research, please come to the Ratepayers Association meeting at 6:00pm on June 12th in the basement of the Tofino Legion Hall.
We will have many, many items which need volunteer researchers. Even though the positions are unpaid, they will produce results which will over time, allow Tofino to take care of it's community needs while still allowing allowing you to keep more of own work product dollars in your own pockets.
There are over a hundred District Municipalities in BC who can take care of their collective needs such as, but not necessarily limited to, sewer, water, roads, other chosen services for less than $800 per person, per year, so Tofino does not need to spend as much as $3000 per person, per year as is currently proposed in the current District of Tofino Fulsome Five Year Financial Plan.
Jarmo Venalainen Acting President of the Tofino Ratepayers Association
To 4:39 PM If taxation was theft the thieves could be charged. Unfortunately it is legalized and compelled. You don't pay, eventually they can take your property away. There is only one way to influence the tax man, through the political process. Best get on it right away.
8 comments:
HA HA HA If my property assessment goes up like everyone else in town. my Taxes are unlikely to go up. HA HA HA. That is a good joke. Who makes this stuff up.
Surely they mean your taxes won't go up at a rate different than anyone else.
Suddenly, for no known reason, the District feels the need to "communicate" with the taxpayers. Where was this great desire for communication and understanding when this latest budget was (or should have been) debated in council chambers? What, pray tell, brings on this sudden transparency and desire to talk to the people? Hey Josie! You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you CANNOT fool all of the people all of the time.
Inaugural meeting of the TOFINO RATEPAYERS ASSOCIATION
Inaugural open house and meeting of the Tofino Ratepayers Association will be held downstairs at the Tofino Legion on Wednesday,June 12. Doors open at 6pm. The Meeting will start at 7pm. Arrive early to avoid a 7pm lineup at the door and allow yourself time to become a member. Membership is free.
Come and find out what the Ratepayers Association is all about.
If you are a property owner or renter, you need us and we need you to join so that with a united voice, we can tell Tofino’s Mayor and Council to hold the line on taxation increases.
Come and learn about the planned increases to your taxes and rents.
"necessary major projects"?? Does this list include the planning of the gardens at Monk's Park ($37,000), work in the "riparian area of Centennial Park" (a wilderness area) ($47,000), and the "updating of the district logo" ($7,000??)?, and the "festival co-ordinator's" salary?
There! in just three lines, I found about $150,000.00 that's being spent on things we really do not need.
How much more, besides these amounts, is being wasted or spent on things we could easily do without? Have all possible avenues toward reducing expenses and streamlining costs been examined? Every dollar saved is a dollar we don't need to borrow. Every dollar borrowed will require two, to pay it back.
It's called "fiscal restraint". It happens when there's not enough money to pay the bills. That would be NOW. Proof that there's not enough money? Simple, we're going out and borrowing.
Once debt gets a hold of us, the hole will only get deeper and deeper, as your taxes are used to service the debt (it's called "interest"), instead of to provide services to the community.
The federal and provincial governments both pull huge portions of the tax revenue generated by tourism out of our community every year, about 95% of the total taxes collected. Tofino gets a paltry 5%.(and this includes the bed tax, that they then tell us we're not allowed to spend on infrastructure!) Then our small population is expected to pay for the infrastructure that supports this "cash cow" tourism industry. It would seem only reasonable to expect the senior levels of government to toss in an additional $10 million each to pay for the sewage treatment facility. They're pulling out about $100 million in tax revenue every year. It's a federally mandated project? Fine. Let them pay for it. Has every possible avenue regarding this possibility been exhausted? Has anyone thought about hauling the federal and provincial ministers and governments responsible in front of the national media?
Being a mayor or a council member in Tofino, in 2019, is a tough job. I appreciate the many challenges involved. When the going gets tough, the tough need to step up and get going. There are other options available. Extreme tax hikes, and assumption of massive debt, is one way. If you ran your own household on these same financial principles, you'd soon find yourself broke, hungry, and homeless. Surely we can do better.
My question is about 8-10 years ago ( I might be off a few years). The PVTL was introduced it was a special tax added to our taxation to cover infastructure costs.
It was introduced as a reaction to the watergate , when we ran out of water many years ago.
The tax was based on how much water you consumed vs your property value.
Low water users with high property values paid the most and high water users with low property values paid the least . The formula may have changed now due to our water bills structure changing but at the time
I went and spoke to Nyla about it as it as I felt it was not a fair way of taxation.
The PVTL should have been an equal amount to all , but regardless , I would like to know what happened to that money that was collected? It is called something else now on our tax bill, and was likely squandered away on wages and consultants and obviously no infastruture. Does anyone know how much was collected and what has happened to the money collected?
Thanks!
Looking into and learning what various tax rate items have been added, removed, increased or decreased and at what times, is a good example of this kinds of things which the Tofino Ratepayers Association is interested in.
We want lots of such ideas and also interested individuals who are willing to look into them and to gather the information from whatever sources it may be available.
If you have ideas and more so, if you are actually interested in volunteering to do research, please come to the Ratepayers Association meeting at 6:00pm on June 12th in the basement of the Tofino Legion Hall.
We will have many, many items which need volunteer researchers. Even though the positions are unpaid, they will produce results which will over time, allow Tofino to take care of it's community needs while still allowing allowing you to keep more of own work product dollars in your own pockets.
There are over a hundred District Municipalities in BC who can take care of their collective needs such as, but not necessarily limited to, sewer, water, roads, other chosen services for less than $800 per person, per year, so Tofino does not need to spend as much as $3000 per person, per year as is currently proposed in the current District of Tofino Fulsome Five Year Financial Plan.
Jarmo Venalainen
Acting President of the Tofino Ratepayers Association
taxation is theft
To 4:39 PM If taxation was theft the thieves could be charged. Unfortunately it is legalized and compelled. You don't pay, eventually they can take your property away. There is only one way to influence the tax man, through the political process. Best get on it right away.
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