It’s not polite, we were told growing up, to discuss two things: religion and money. The religion part we can let slide but it seems our reticence to discuss wealth is biting us in the behind.
An analysis of the latest census data shows West Vancouver, where you can’t cross the street without nearly being hit by a Lamborghini, has one of the highest rates of low-income households in Metro Vancouver.
Of course pensioners could be included in that, but they don’t account for the overall percentage of low-income households indicated by Revenue Canada. The statistics show a higher percentage of low incomes among working age people than among retirees.
Richmond shows similar low-income statistics that belie what we can see with our own eyes. This is more evidence foreign income is driving our housing market (and likely the Lamborghini, too).
For generations, Canada’s tax system has been focused on income rather than wealth. This is extremely convenient for those who have declared little of the former but have much of the latter.
Meanwhile, we’re constantly told the cupboard is bare when it comes to building affordable housing, improving our health-care system and repairing the holes in our social safety net.
There is an innovative proposal coming from the academics who have been studying this decoupling of the housing market from local incomes: increase the taxes on multimillion-dollar properties but allow residents to deduct the amount they’ve paid in income taxes.
That way no one can selectively “opt out” of paying for the services they consume, while raking in millions elsewhere.
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