Today, readers are reacting to news that Vancouver’s council and Mayor are considering a property tax increase of 6.3 per cent.
The downtown skyline in Vancouver, B.C.Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press
Vancouver's property taxes rates are very low in comparison to Toronto's. The city is in dire need of new infrastructure, more policing, etc. The money has to come from somewhere. Property taxes should only be allowed to be deferred by low income seniors. - Anne2301
In response to Anne2301:
As a resident of Toronto, I completely agree, and I would be willing to pay more municipal taxes to improve Toronto, especially transit. But, I understand not everyone can afford to pay more. Building cities correctly is a long game. It takes time. It's too bad our political system doesn't assist in this process. Ideally, this increase would be spread over a few years. - tip2
If Vancouver's city government is hemming and hawing and wavering and dawdling over a tax increase that amounts to a whopping nineteen dollars a month (roll eyes) for the median Vancouver home, worth $1.8-million, then I guess we can all give up any hope that this crew will have the gumption to make any of the radical changes needed to improve the city for locally employed workers. - Doctor Demento
"Considering" a property tax increase of 6.3 per cent? Yeah, right. It's already been agreed on and it will pass. Vancouverites are getting exactly what they voted for when they elected yet another socialist for Mayor. All problems can be solved by taxing homeowners and drivers, right? - B in Van
Raising property taxes will not solve the very high cost of housing. It will make things worse. Supply and demand economics. - dmurrell.unb.ca
Keep your Opinions sharp and informed. Get the Opinion newsletter.
If you are going to compare property tax rates for various large cities across Canada, don't focus on assessed value. Focus on property taxes for homes with comparable lot sizes, building footprints and square footage. Then compare this with the services the city provides.
In the case of Vancouver, just because property values have soared in the past 10 years, it does not mean the cost to service the property should rise at the same rate. - John FFF
Why is indexing legal at the municipal level? Are my wages indexed, no? Indexing at the municipal level needs to be illegal. Please, it’s just thievery at this point. - BrownOttawa
From the Comments is designed to highlight interesting and thoughtful contributions from our readers. Some comments have been edited for clarity. Everyone can read the comments but only subscribers will be able to contribute. Thank you to everyone furthering debate across our site.