Editor:
Re: Housing prices will rise – but taxes will, too. Jan. 6 column.
Property tax is an integral part of funding Metro Vancouver’s integrated transportation system and keeping it in a state of good repair. This includes our transit service (bus, SkyTrain, SeaBus, Canada Line, and West Coast Express) as well as maintaining, operating and rehabilitating the Major Road Network and bridges that TransLink manages.
In his column, Frank Bucholtz suggests TransLink might seek to take advantage of the boom in assessed values to collect a larger portion of tax than it typically would. It’s important to note that, by legislation, TransLink’s property tax revenue is only allowed to grow by a maximum of three per cent each year, therefore the property assessment value does not impact the revenue collected for TransLink.
For the homeowner, the percentage increase has been actually much less as the region continues to grow, with more new homes and businesses. This has resulted in the actual tax increases being on average a one per cent range per household to achieve TransLink’s allowable three per cent growth in property tax revenue.
Meantime, TransLink continues to focus on finding cost savings and efficiencies, to ensure that both passengers and taxpayers get the best value for their money from the services TransLink provides.
Cathy McLay, acting chief executive officer, TransLink