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LETTER: School tax question misleading

Dear Editor: In answer to the question web poll question “Should B.C. scrap the school tax?”, 45% of the respondents said No because "people who own $3-million homes can afford a 0.2 per cent tax hike.
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Dear Editor:

In answer to the question web poll question “Should B.C. scrap the school tax?”, 45% of the respondents said No because "people who own $3-million homes can afford a 0.2 per cent tax hike.”

I will not debate whether or not owners of $3-million homes can afford a tax hike, but the quoted hike of 0.2 per cent is utterly misleading.

The “school tax” in question is charged at 0.2% of the assessed value of the home in excess of $3 million.  For example, the owner of a $4 million home would have to pay $2,000 (.2% of $1 million).

Based on 2018 tax assessments, a West Vancouver $4 million property would incur about $9,000 in regular property taxes.  This additional “school tax” of $2,000 therefore amounts to a tax hike of 22 per cent!

That is a far cry from the 0.2 per cent tax hike quoted in the web poll answer.

Furthermore, it gets even worse for properties assessed at over $4 million. For a $5 million property, this “school tax” would be $6,000, which is probably close to a 50 per cent tax hike.


Walter Gfeller
West Vancouver

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