Dear editor,
We have been asked by our municipal government if we would like to add to our property taxes an additional amount per annum to help the homelessness problem we have in the Comox Valley. The problem is not the amount being asked for, it’s the bigger issue I have with this forced taxation.
There is a saying “one for all and all for one!” That is why a NO vote must be cased. Since the non-binding question in the last election, Denman/Hornby islands are now exempt and the Town of Comox has set terms. That implies that there is no “all for one.”
This issue in my view is a federal problem. So the coalition for the homelessness should be targeting their efforts toward them.
As a taxpayer, I have no problem paying for city infrastructure and such, but not on a social issue that now only select groups will pay.
The choice must be left up to and only to the property owners, not to those who contribute nothing and have everything to gain.
If the city must implement this tax, leave it up to the individuals when renewing their municipal taxes to have the choice to donate or not.
The municipality stated they would be transparent, which is far from the truth. Every article published has been buried obscurely in only one of the local papers. Due to the gravity of the request these articles should have been front and centre. There are still a lot of unanswered questions to be addressed.
Stephen Maier
Courtenay