Vancouver’s Property Tax Windfall…

Is About To End.

photo credit: SqueakyMarmot

This year, with the rise of Vancouver property values, property taxes should ONLY increase by only 14.2% (that’s inflation x 700%).

Vancouver budget director Annette Klein said the 1.23-per-cent tax increase approved by city council was not reflected for single-family dwellings because their assessed values shot up 30 per cent.

Don’t you think they should have been able to drop taxes with assessments going up by an average of 30%?

I’d like to share the lesson I learned in Florida – because it parallels Vancouver’s situation…

In Florida, the the property tax rates never really went up, but our assessments rose an average 25-35% each year, for 4 years. In my case, that translated taxes going from $3,500 to $10,000 in 3 years.

This windfall gave Ft Lauderdale county approx. 1 billion more in revenue each year, without having to raise taxes.

When house prices dropped (crashed), I expected to see my taxes go down. They dropped $150.

The reason is, like gas, they rise fast on the upside… and drop painfully slow on the downside.

The reason I was given was that although prices went down by 25%, the cut-off for setting the assessments is 12 months before the tax bill is set, so the lower assessments would take a year to hit my tax bill.

Now it’s been almost 2 years since my Florida home price has spiraled down, I am hoping (not holding my breath) that my taxes will come back to where they started off.

Well run cities (i.e Calgary) determine property taxes by the cities operating costs. Once the budget is set, they add up all the assessed property values and divide the budget into the gross. This results in everyone paying their fair share based on property value, and the city becomes accountable to budgeting…

… Not by counting on a windfall gained from raising property taxes.

There’s a lesson (or warning) to be learned. Cities quickly get addicted to increasing revenues, and lose all accountability. Can you  notice any difference in Vancouver after all these years of property tax increases many times greater than inflation??

When the revenues go down, all hell will break loose…

We’ll hear about the drastic cuts to police, parks, libraries, health, teachers, etc. It will sound like an Armageddon.

(Remember how many cops, teachers, etc. they have actually added…)

It’s all BS, and a great cover to keep blowing your money… money they shouldn’t have received in the first place.

With property prices now set to fall significantly in Vancouver, don’t say I didn’t warn you…

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Vancouver BMW Dealerships – Are You Listening?

One of the great challenges in moving to Vancouver from the US, is having to deal with the stress of importing your vehicles. Not for the fainthearted or the thin of wallet.

Importing a car, even for a returning resident, is no easy task.

Here’s the overview:

2007 BMW 530:

To get it to “Canadian” Standards I was advised by BMW Vancouver that it would cost:

• $5,500 to change dash speedometer to Km
• $1,500 to turn on running lights
• $1,500 to change the automatic climate control (???? – no explanation of what this means or why)
• $6-7,000 Taxes and duty
• $850 for two form letters
• $500 to Canada Border and Inspection fees.
• $1,000  PST
• Total=$17,750

Total Investment=$64,000

I had no other choice than to get rid of the car in the US. The car was $46,000 new in the US  – it’s $76,000 in Vancouver.

After the devious paperwork and compliance BMW charges, it still would have been less than the inflated price of Vancouver BMW, but I couldn’t swallow paying another $18,000 for a car that I already owned. Or know is only worth $46,000.

I had to sell it, Lost $12,000 on the sale.

Gained one unhappy wife who lost her 45th birthday present… thanks to BMW Canada.

2002 BMW X5

• $850 for two BMW form letters
• $1,800 for turning the running lights on
• $500 to Canada Border and Inspection fees.
• Total=$3,150

I paid $38,000 in 2002 for it (new BMW X5 is now over $75,000 in Canada).

But it was worth keeping, as the car is worth double in Canada and I can’t replace it.

So I joined the class action lawsuit. Hoping to get my money back.

I’ve been a BMW owner for over 10 years and have purchased 4 of their cars and the motorbike. That’s 1 every 2 years.

As of this moment, BMW has lost a customer that was worth another $100-200K to them over the next 5 years. An extremely loyal customer that will carry the frustration of having been gouged out of a new car by BMW Canada.

They just don’t get it.

In the US, BMW has done a great job of mainstreaming their cars – simply by pricing in line with Lexus, Acura and the other premium car brands.

My friends and neighbors all have brand loyalty to BMW unlike anything I’ve seen for any other car brand (and I owned 14 Honda cars before switching).

BMW Canada is going down a slippery slope… sacrificing customers for short term profits.

With the move to micro cars, SUV sales dropping off the charts, and the drop in sales for anything that gets less than 30 MPG, they continue to charge over 50% more than real price of the car. It’s incomprehensible now that the Canadian dollar has been at par for over 6 months.

Wost of all, the dealerships in Vancouver defends it by a simple shrug. No trying to explain why they charge $850 for two form letters, or why the selling prices are 50% more.

It’s take it or leave it.

Well BMW Canada, I have no choice but to leave. Been a great 10 years. Hope Acura will take me back.

If you have any thoughts on this rip-off, or have been screwed importing a  BMW like me, drop them a friendly email at admissibility@bmw.ca

I’m sure they’ll get right back to you with a good explanation.

See you in court.

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Endangered – A Canadian Perspective

Since I’ve arrived in Canada, I can’t say I’ve paid too much attention to what the politicians say. Most bad news is blamed on the US, so I tune out.

Then a gentleman named Garth Turner, the Member of Parliament for Halton, Ontario, comes along…

His current blog post sums up what is on the horizon.

“Welcome to the second half of 2008. Hang on. It gets worse.

I have some ideas of where we’ll be soon, but first have a look at where we are. The economy of our friend and client is shredding, and we’re not immune”

A really good article, in language I haven’t heard from a politician before.. even a former PC turned Liberal…

Refreshing.

Check it out here..

Fill ‘er Up Tonight!!

Introducing: The BC Carbon Tax Grab

With the B.C. Liberals starting the sales push on THEIR carbon tax, ask the question…

Just what does a carbon tax really accomplish?

Where does the money go?

Tomorrow marks the day that they raise gas prices, among other things, in the name of global warming. It gives BC the title as the most carbon-pricing aggressive regimes in the world.

Now we get the incentive of $6/gallon gas, I guess their work is done.

The 2.4 cents a liter (9 cents a gallon) tax is going to hit all those evil drivers.

It’s styled to change your lifestyle – so you’ll be more green.

What concerns me – is the hidden part of this grab.

Most of this crazy tax will be hidden, and business will get hit by the lions share of it.

We’ll end up paying more for everything we buy.

If a dollar increase at manufacturing equates to say, $3 retail, hang on. Food, utilities, and anything that is made using electricity, fuel, or oil, are all to get an increase.

This tax has been referred to as a “smart carbon tax”.  Revenue neutral.  If this is true (it’s not), then what’s the point?

If ridiculously high oil prices haven’t slowed down oil’s use, carbon taxes sure won’t reduce anything but the cash flow of the poorest working Canadians.

The Liberals thinking is that once all those working Canadians are finally broke, carbon footprints will finally be reduced.

Sad fact is that the ones with the biggest footprint won’t feel a thing. They get to pass along their costs.

My prediction is this is the first of many more new taxes to come, in the name of “green”.

(By the way, my $100 bribe hasn’t shown up yet.)

Steve Janke has an excellent post on the situation.

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Got a HDTV and Helped Pay For Someone To Get Rid of Theirs

Decided to bite the bullet and buy a new TV – so decided to get an LCD to really enjoy my HDTV cable. Golf and hockey never looked so good.

Yes, it was more $$ than I was used to, but hey, Canada $ at par will eventually take hold.

Paying the bill and I noticed that on top of PST and GST, they hit me with a disposal fee. I wasn’t getting rid of a TV, I was buying one.

So why the fee?

The province wide Return-It Electronics Program, a levy, ranging from $10 to $45, is applied to all new desktop and notebook computers, monitors, printers, fax machines and televisions.

Encorp, a federally incorporated not-for-profit product stewardship corporation (?), is running the program along with the Electronics Stewardship Association of British Columbia, an industry led agency.

So I guess I am paying for others to throw theirs away… I promised to throw mine away in Alberta if that helps.

Nope – pay the fee sir.

They also get a fee (on top of the deposit fee) for bottles and cans and look after the recycling.

God bless them.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLBZHrWdQB0]

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