Alternatives to home tax? Plus other letters, Jan. 21: ‘I favour a municipal income tax’

Words issue

Re “Canada has a ethical obligation to assist South Africa’s genocide situation against Israel” (Jan. 15): Numerous a long time in the past, I was at a lecture in California supplied by Steven Pinker about his investigate on the decline of violence around time in human societies.

For the duration of the Q&A, an individual questioned him about the violence of poverty. He responded that poverty is unwanted all by itself, but if we make everything “violence,” then absolutely nothing is violence.

I feel contributor Avi Lewis is trying to do this with genocide. If genocide signifies practically nothing, I just cannot help but believe it will add to the reversal of the optimistic trend that Mr. Pinker described.

Words signify some thing until eventually they really do not.

Greg Hart Calgary

Funds and ability

Re “Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe sights his city as a ‘small province’ and not just a countrywide capital” (Jan. 13): Mark Sutcliffe’s thought that Ottawa is a lot like a modest province appears to be as vacuous as his 1st 12 months in business has been.

Fairly than leading the city in the directions it must go, I see he has picked to sit back again and be as unobtrusive as attainable. In the meantime, the complications and the city’s stove-piped bureaucracy grind on.

Ontario municipalities, Ottawa incorporated, are bound hand and foot to that other bureaucracy and its political masters at Queen’s Park. One particular-quarter of Ottawa’s running income is outside the house its handle. Much of the rest is determined by procedures built by the province.

Erwin Dreessen Ottawa

Toronto taxes

Re “There’s an option to sky-superior municipal home taxes. It is a municipal revenue tax” (Opinion, Jan. 13): Lots of municipal politicians and corporations have been calling for municipal product sales tax for decades.

The at any time-rising tasks of towns and metropolitan areas has significantly outstripped their skill to finance them through assets taxes. And this trouble can only be solved by federal or provincial action.

In advance of unilateral federal reduction, the blended HST was 15 per cent in Ontario. If both equally the feds and Ontario each and every raised their price by 1 for every cent and assigned this income to municipalities centered on population, the force on house taxes would be mainly removed and the HST rate would only return to its earlier amount.

The fiscal balance involving stages of governing administration is out of whack. What worked in 1867, when municipalities ended up an afterthought, doesn’t perform effectively nowadays. And it can be set without fiddling with the Structure.

Possibly it just involves additional angry house-tax payers to get it performed.

Steve Parish Former mayor Ajax, Ont.

I consider home taxes will never ever sufficiently cover municipal bills. For that reason a different supply of income is required.

I favour a municipal income tax as an adjunct. And it would require commuters to support cover the fees of the added benefits they acquire.

Rick Walker Toronto

Of all forms of municipal taxation, the poll tax is the fairest. But inquire individuals associated with Margaret Thatcher how that labored out in Britain.

Building a uniform marketplace-price evaluation procedure for residential, professional and industrial properties in Toronto would introduce tax fairness, though generating most of the revenues essential to operate municipal governing administration responsibly. But the political will to do so has been significantly absent at metropolis hall. Uniform MVA would seem to be the 3rd rail of Toronto politics.

Taxpayers throughout Canada will probable proceed to subsidize Toronto and its residents until finally a brave mayor actions ahead and does the suitable factor by utilizing uniform MVA – or until finally a honest-minded premier does so on behalf of all challenging-doing work Canadian taxpayers.

John Challinor II Councillor, Ward 2 Milton, Ont.

Home taxes in Canada are paid with soon after-tax money. Because of this, they are a considerable price load for owners.

In the scenario of Toronto, much of this cash goes to social companies provided by the city these as subsidized housing. It appears punitive and unfair to use soon after-tax earnings to spend for a myriad of social providers that Toronto delivers, although a lot of other municipal governments do not supply these products and services at all.

Why aren’t these social providers compensated for with income tax like many others supplied by our provincial and federal governments?

Greg Nevison Toronto

Would a homebuyer be dissuaded from a buy by proposed tax boosts?

My household would value a consumer about $1.8-million. My taxes are about $6,000. A 15-for every-cent enhance would signify an more $900 a 12 months.

On what earth would this prevent a likely customer from having on a $1.4-million house loan?

David Gordon Toronto

Very last 12 months in my city, taxes for a million-greenback house were $14,350 vs . $6,319 in Toronto. So there is nevertheless a whole lot of room for Toronto to substantially improve residence taxes.

Andy Werner Stratford Ont.

There is a summary to be drawn from columnist Andrew Coyne’s totally sensible proposals: that Toronto obtain provincial obligations and powers, in whichever way makes the most feeling constitutionally.

Contiguous municipalities could pick out to join Toronto in this venture.

Richard Gilbert Toronto

How substantially?

Re “Gripped by Toronto’s once-a-year spending budget stress? Just hold out for the surplus” (Report on Organization, Jan. 17): The revelation that Toronto is jogging surpluses at the similar time it is floating double-digit tax will increase justifies extra scrutiny by metropolis councillors.

The roadmap laid out listed here is apparent: Check with city staff for true benefits when introduced with a funds. I see no other way to tackle this dilemma. Then make the proper profits increasing and spending decisions.

Brian Johnston Toronto

It’s been my observation that Toronto’s existing administration simply cannot successfully communicate, negotiate, encourage or innovate. Based on this belief, I would include “calculate” to that listing.

One would feel these are rather significant techniques to have when operating Canada’s premier metropolis, which has the prospective to be a major world power.

Mark Spurr Toronto

New background

Re “The death of the DVD has been tremendously exaggerated” (Arts & Textbooks, Jan. 13): I a short while ago put in the vacations rewatching my boxset of Canada: A People’s History. For those who try to remember it, that’s 15 DVD discs in 480p resolution.

A person (the CBC?) must reissue this epic and essential documentary sequence on Blu-ray discs in HDTV or 4K structure. This masterpiece of heritage, our history, is richly deserving of a new existence for today’s technology of Canadians.

Tom Kennedy Toronto

Letters to the Editor should be exceptional to The Globe and Mail. Consist of your title, address and daytime cellphone range. Maintain letters to 150 words and phrases or much less. Letters may be edited for duration and clarity. To post a letter by e-mail, click on listed here: [email protected]