This week city council voted to pass a motion to ask the B.C. government to withdraw a tax increase on properties valued at $3 million and above. Christine Boyle, a Vancouver city councillor with OneCity, explains why she voted against the motion.

VANCOUVER—Recent claims that property taxes are creating division among Vancouverites — in the form of the provincial school surtaxes or the proposed 4.9 per cent municipal increase — are an inaccurate take. It has been purported that these efforts to raise needed revenues are an “attack on homeowners” and even “an affront to human rights.”

In fact, quite the opposite is true: it’s growing inequality that is causing deep divisions in Vancouver. And if we are genuinely concerned about the future and livelihood of all residents of this city, we must begin by decreasing our troubling wealth gap.

We know that inequality isn’t just an issue for Vancouver. According to an international Oxfam report, 82 per cent of the wealth created globally last year went to the richest one per cent of the population. In Canada, the wealthiest 87 families own 4,448 times as much wealth as the Canadian average and have as much wealth as 12 million Canadians combined. In contrast, one in five children in Metro Vancouver are living in poverty, approximately 86,500 children. To put this in perspective, this is roughly 1.5 times the capacity of BC Place.

High rates of wealth and income inequality impact us all; they lead to reduced physical- and mental-health outcomes on both sides of the divide.

Across B.C., wealth disparity is especially evident in land wealth. The wealthiest 20 per cent of B.C. households own 62 per cent of the net worth of principal residences in B.C., and the top 40 per cent hold 87 per cent of this wealth.

Because wealth is accumulated through income and also through property, we need a balanced system of taxation that addresses both these dimensions. Our current system isn’t achieving that balance.

Vancouver homeowners pay some of the lowest property tax rates in Canada. Due to dramatic increases in property values and Vancouver’s mill-rate system, the actual residential property tax rate in Vancouver has decreased in recent decades, from 1.2 per cent in 1988 to 0.25 per cent in 2018. While a home worth $1 million pays $4,673 annually in Toronto, a $1-million home in Vancouver pays only $2,555. Even after incorporating the additional school surtax on homes worth over $3 million, Toronto property taxes still come out higher.

These low property tax rates have contributed to rampant real-estate speculation and a surge in home prices in Vancouver — key drivers of the affordability crisis, homelessness and low- and modest-income residents being pushed out of the city.

Vancouver’s proposed 4.9 per cent property tax increase accounts for inflation, the new Employer Health Tax and investment in infrastructure renewal. It is higher than in recent years, and in the context of a growing gap between local incomes and the cost of living, it’s understandable that it has people nervous. Many Vancouverites are feeling pinched. The actual dollar amount is less daunting.

For people as fortunate as me, paying a mortgage on a half-duplex in East Vancouver, this tax increase will result in our household having to pay an estimated $76 more this year. Considering the incredible array of public services that are funded by property taxes — from parks and libraries to cultural programs and homelessness services to fire services and transportation networks — this may be the best $76 we spend all year.

In Vancouver, owning your principal residence has been a very beneficial investment. And it gives homeowners not only security of tenure but also the benefit of having choices when money is tight: rent out space, downsize or defer property taxes until the property is sold. As we are hearing clearly, these are choices many homeowners don’t like, but they are choices most renters would love to have and don’t.

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The deep tensions across Vancouver weren’t created by any recent tax proposal. They have been simmering for years as property values skyrocketed and our city’s wealth gap grew and grew.

Inequality impacts all of us in Vancouver. And we won’t solve it by cutting taxes and services. Truly tackling inequality means investing in affordable-housing initiatives and strong public programs, addressing the root causes of poverty and improving quality of life for all Vancouverites. This means those of us who had the privilege and luck of entering the housing market at the right time contributing a little bit more. Taxes are how we care for one another and ensure none of our neighbours fall through the cracks. That’s worth much more than $76 to me.

Christine Boyle is a Vancouver city councillor with OneCity Vancouver.

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