aS > coment i ae | itw received 4 nt. from the city in the — __, 1 Of increased taxes and th don’t like it. = Said NE OR Ie TET cae = oS _— — a Ro Mapa FR ol ret lOO! oS RR es te oa Ss TA pee) Ale ie! RA 78 (Re 2 SD Homeowners victims By WILLIAM TURNER Vancouver homeowners have their annual At the bottom of this dissatis- action lies the source of the _ Problem — the reluctance of a 'g-business orientated city ~ council to shi oth shift the main burden ful € tax load to where it right- 34 belongs. In fact, council s S over backwards in the ee direction with outright ato real estate promoters re clow the true value assess- Nts of industrial and revenue- Producing property. _, this is the hub of the problem ae homeowners who will . heir taxes upped $19 on the mile home, an increase in the ag Tate of 8.6 percent over 1969 Ae to’ provide an additional “XTevenue of $262,000 for 1970. ee city council’s finance Mmittee claims that this Mount is required to offset a $100 000 deficit in the current a pars budget. It is obvious to the Payer if not to city council. oat the overly generous con- SSlons of taxpayers money to ~ Special favored: interests in 1969 *ontributed towards this year’s _ (*X increase. The public purse ~ borne the pinch of lavish Bec cutures to the real estate ®moters Bronfmans and the R, with an award of $900,000 ‘0 the PNE for artificial turf at ™Mpire Stadium. onsite the increase in the ae grant to $160, it ae S the Vancouver taxpayer Clief from steady increases Costs Property tax as school Vear Continue to climb each expe While the outlay of capital Nditures required for civic ' potential TED HARRIS 757 East Hastings St. Vancouver 4, B.C. Ginters and Paperhangers Supplies. Sunworthy Wall y Wallpaper L Reg. 45¢ — Now 19¢ a Roll pees projects bite more deeply into the shrinking tax dollar. The provincial government's cutback on hospital financing, the hold-the-line policy on social services; the present inequit- able financial formula for edu- cation all are designed by the Socred government to continue its policy of shifting added costs on to the already over-burdened taxpayer. OTHER CENTRES Taxpayers in other centres on the lower mainland are also faced with the problem of higher taxes on their homes. In the-city of North Vancouver the tax hike on the average home will amount to $64. Here, the city while. retaining the same percentage for the tax-base at 100 percent on land, has increased the percentage from 40 to 75 percent on improvements. This 35 percent rise indicates that the $64 tax boost for the average homeowner is an inequitable- basis for the addi- tional tax revenue that is required. The as yet untapped to yield additional revenue lies in making the necessary changes to shift the main burden of the tax load from the homeowner to industrial and other revenue-producing property. In West Vancouver which has always been looked upon as a haven of affluence, the council has slashed school costs to such an extent that 45 fewer teachers will be employed this September in an economy move to hold the bidget by lopping off $700,000 from its school costs. Also affected by these drastic measures are 35 other school board employees covering administrative personnel, janitors, and maintenance workers whose jobs terminate July 1. This points up the critical state of affairs facing municipalities who are confronted with the serious problem of financing ever-increasing schoo! costs. It ‘of unfair tax increase Beaver Transfer Moving Packing Storage 373 East Hastings St. ~ L Phone 254-3711 It Pays To Sell THE PACIFIC TRIBUNE Contact: E. CRIST, Circulation Mgr. at 685-5288 a 253-129) The Trip of a Lifetime! EXPO 70 & Trans-Siberian Railway Contact: GLOBE TOURS 2679 E. Hastings St., Vancouver 6, B.C. 254-2313 PT DRIVE RESULTS Don’t forget the PT Victory Banquet this Friday, June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Maglio’s, corner Venables and Commer cial. Watch fext week for a full report of the banquet and final drive results. arises from the binding limi- tations placed on school boards who find themselves frustrated in their efforts to cope with the mounting costs of education imposed by the Socred govern- ment’s inadequate grants under the school-financing formula. The crisis in education throughout the province is marked by the fact that 42 of the province’s 80 school districts this year were compelled to cut back on education costs. - BURNABY In Burnaby too homeowners will feel the bind of not only increased revenues allocated for schools but for its share of the Regional Hospital District's financing and a $2.7 million expenditure for capital works. The tax rate levied for schools in 1970 hasbeen upped by 1.5 mills over last year. Taxpayers are beginning to realise that the crunch imposed by the tax burden on homes calls for drastic changes in the muni- cipal tax structure. For instance, the shift to a fairer and more equitable distribution of the tax load should be under- taken by the assessing of com- mercial and industrial properties at their true value, and, a graduated business tax of 8 to 20 percent based upon the size and type of business. These measures, aided by increased grants for education to the municipalities by the govern- ment would greatly assist in balancing out the present unfair tax load now borne by the home owner. | : eeecocesecsevesseeseseseosser OVALTINE CAFE 251 EAST HASTINGS Vancouver, B.C. QUALITY SERVICE wececcccrtecccccce eevosecosenscece® Workers Benevolent Assn. Of Canada Progressive Fraternal Society Caters to all your needs in the Life Insurance field Al LIFE INSURANCE ENDOWMENTS PENSION PLANS WEEKLY BENEFITS Apply to: B.C. office at 805 East Pender St. or National Office at 595 Pritchard Ave. Winnipeg 4, Manitoba Pee Sie ee “Everone is a little subversive but thee and me, sometimes | think even thee —"’ be fur and ColQacKax, TA- Lift your lockout trustees tell CLRA KAMLOOPS — Trustees of School District 21 here passed a resolution Monday, May 25 calling on the Construction Labor Relations Association to lift the lockout from school con- struction projects. They also decided to enlist the support of the B.C. School Trustees Asso- ciation, and to pass their request on to Labor Minister Les Peterson. School trustee Cliff Branch- flower charged C.J. Connaghan, president of CLRA_ with “attempting to evade his responsibility’ for the school construction lockout, which has held up an addition for Brockle- hurst Junior Secondary School here. Failure to build the addition will force the school to go onto shift scheduling in the fall to accommodate 850 students in a school designed for 456. Contractors for the Kamloops school are Wilson and Dalgleish Construction, who are members of the CLRA and have joined in the lockout. The school trusees have called on the company to pull out of the CLRA if the Asso- ciation refuses to lift the lockout. School trustee Branchflower nt -out at. CLRA= = Mr: Connaghan said I should contact the unions because they are responsible for the shutdown. If there were a strike in progress, with picket lines at school sites, I would indeed urge the unions to permit construction to proceed. They would then have to bear responsibility for what is going on. “There is no strike,” said Branchflower, ‘‘the companies have locked out their employees and it is the companies who are responsible in this instance. If I were to follow Mr. Connaghan’s suggestion, I would be doing his negotiating for him. I assume he is well paid to do a job and I’ve no intention of doing part of it for him, even at his invitation. “J have not suggested a general lifting of the lockout but I must insist that the CLRA show some sense of responsibility by allowing essential school con- struction to proceed.” Building trades union head Ed Fay said recently that his unions would not have shut down school or hospital construction if there had been a strike and indicated that the unions are seeking a meeting with Labor Minister Peterson to seek an end to the lockout on school and hospital construction. Classified advertising BUSINESS PERSONAL DRY CLEANING & LAUNDRY Also Coin-op LAUNDRETTE 2633 Commercial Dr. 879-9956 REGENT TAILORS LTD. — Custom Tailors and Ready- to-Wear, 324 W. Hastings St.- MU 1-8456 or 4441 E. Hastings — CY 8-2030. See Henry Ran- | kin for personal service. RENEW YOUR SUB TODAY HALLS FOR RENT UK RAINIAN_ CANADIAN CULTURAL CENTRE - 805 East Pender St.. Vancou- ver 4. Available for Banquets, Weddings, Meetings. Phone: 254-3436 or 876-9693 RUSSIAN PEOPLE’S HOME— Available for meetings. ban- quets and weddings at vea- sonabie rates. 600 Campbell Ave. 254-3430. CLINTON HALL. 2605 East Pender. Available for bin- quets, meetings. weddings. etc. Phone 253-7414. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JUNE, 12, 1970—Paue 13 see 1)