In an attempt to offset a strained municipal budget, council has thrown its support behind a proposal that would give the district a cut of the province's land transfer tax."This is really a push back to the provincial government about running our services," said Coun. Greg Gardner, noting he finds it frustrating to see the province claim a surplus while municipalities struggle to provide basic services. The transfer tax must get approval from the Union of B.C. Municipalities (UBCM) and then the province. If approved, any municipality in B.C could adopt it.In places such as Toronto, a municipal land tax exists, but it is charged in addition to the province's. While this idea was initially considered by council, Coun. Raj Kahlon objected to hitting the public with another tax.He said he would only support the motion if the money were taken out of the province's existing transfer tax.B.C.'s land transfer tax collects one per cent of a property valued at $200,000 or less, and two per cent on dollars over that number. Council suggested municipalities get about half the revenue, or half a percent of the property value.If the tax is enacted under these guidelines, a newly acquired property valued $200,000 would result in a $1,000 payment to the district.Coun. Patricia Heintzman asked for more time to discuss the tax."My recollection is that we originally deferred it because we thought we should have a really good conversation about it," she said, adding she didn't want to see council "hastily vote."But Coun. Corinne Lonsdale said she would like to see the motion put forward so UBCM could consider it sooner rather than later. She added that if passed, municipalities would still be left with the decision of enacting it or not. The added revenue is intended to help cover municipal infrastructure costs, as current property revenue does not meet community demands in Squamish.According to the motion, one out of every tax dollar collected in Canada, municipal governments get just eight cents - principally from property taxes, while the other 92 cents goes to the federal and provincial governments.Everyone voted in favour of sending the proposed tax formula to UBCM for consideration.
