COQUITLAM
The Editor,
Re. "3.34% tax hike in Coquitlam" (The Tri-City News, Dec. 5).
A letter to Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart and city council:
What is a person to do? Yet another increase in the cost of living?
Transit, toll bridges, property taxes, water, utilities, gas tax - and the list goes on - all going up. Unemployment remains high with continued bad economic news in B.C. Highest level of child poverty, increasing levels of personal debt with no increase in wages in sight for the majority of workers in B.C. and for some, there has been no increase in wages for three or four years in spite of annual inflation increases and ongoing tax increases.
An increasing income gap between the top paid and the middle and lower paid is prevalent in Canada and it is a larger gap than in the U.S. (according to the Conference Board of Canada). There is a decreasing amount of discretionary income to support local businesses so the cycle becomes cannibalistic. No spending by consumers, no business growth, increase in unemployment, increase in business closures, fewer employment opportunities - it's a negative spiralling effect.
While I appreciate that Coquitlam council has reduced the tax increase this year over last, it is not good enough. It needs to be 0%. We need to rein in spending, let people rebuild their financial situations and focus on growing the whole community, not just parts of it.
I vote No to increased taxes of any kind.
D.C. Bringeland, Coquitlam
