5 days Ago By Winnipeg Free Press
Inefficient taxation Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Inefficient taxation Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion Inefficient taxation Re: (Dec. 13) The Manitoba NDP has replaced the education property tax credit and the school tax rebate which previously appeared on property tax bills with a new “homeowners affordability tax credit” of up to $1,500. In theory, this does make some sense to have one credit rather than two credits.
A homeowner can approximate their TIPP payment for 2025 by reducing their 2024 school division tax levy by $1,500, adding their 2024 municipal tax levy increased by 1.0595 per cent and then dividing the total by 12 and adding $1 for administration. However, it just seems rather ridiculous that school taxes should be on the municipal tax bill in the first place, since those taxes only account for about 36 per cent of the operating funds for public schools.
As far as I know, the only other jurisdiction that still collects school taxes on their property tax bills is Saskatchewan. Collecting school taxes on property tax bills also means that people who have cottages pay taxes to more than one school board, which is not fair, if they don’t have children attending schools in those municipalities. In my case, it looks like my school tax for 2025 will be just over $200 after the $1,500 tax credit.
It seems kind of silly to collect this small amount through the city’s collection process, which obviously will have administrative expenses associated with it. The whole approach is just not efficient in my opinion. Brian Fraser Winnipeg Clearance concerns Re: (Dec 13) I feel for those poor people with mobility restrictions trying to navigate the streets and sidewalks with even more snow and ice.
I’m fortunate enough to have a car although it is a modest sedan old enough now to kindly be called “classic.” But it works for me and the limited amount of driving I do. However, my problem is clearance.
It’s so low to the ground that it’s already a challenge to make it through our snowy parking lot, let alone snowy rutted side streets. Not everyone can afford a gas-guzzling SUV with clearance to spare. I hope Mayor Scott Gillingham’s pilot project isn’t tested out in my area.
At the risk of sounding cheeky, five centimetres does make a difference. Susan Leigh Winnipeg Praise for libraries In response to the endless negative stories about public services, taxes, homicides and all other matters of our current world, I want to thank and acknowledge the brilliance of public libraries. My kids and I can find a book we’d like to read, click a few buttons and send it to our nearest library.
If my kids don’t read all the books they’ve borrowed, they are returned, with no fees. This accessibility to great stories is everything kids need to become readers. Just a little gratitude for a great public service, on this cold Winnipeg day.
Alyssa Rajotte Winnipeg Cheap postage a problem For many years, I’ve sent all of my important mail envelopes by Xpresspost and paid for a signature. I personally feel that it is well worth the cost. Having lived, worked and at times studied in six provinces and travelled to many remote places inside and outside Canada, I grasp the immense size of this country and huge distances and travel time.
Also, for many years, I’ve personally felt that regular postal rates were far too low for the services provided. Relative to the prices we pay for so many other goods and services, the cost of general postage is simply not realistic. Governments should be the first to grasp and understand cost factors.
If Canada Post is vital and important to this nation and it must somehow function on a long-term basis, independently, and without real government support, then it is time to at least double and even triple basic and commercial postal rates. On a daily basis we pay out a lot of money for really non-essential items and for more important things. It is reasonable that we pay the true cost of shipping our goods and entrusting our mail to a reliable carrier.
We need to value what our postal service provides. Holly Bertram Winnipeg Problems with private care Investment in long-term care homes will never happen while they are predominantly run by for-profit companies. The problem with private companies is that the goal is profit, not people.
We experienced the fallout of this during the pandemic, when the military entered long-term care homes and, across the country, discovered false reporting of levels of staffing and lack of PPE to name a few issues. “Never again!”We declared. Yet deplorable conditions and lack of adequate staffing still prevail in mostly for-profit care homes.
Cutting labour is one of the most efficient ways to save money. It is well documented that private long-term care homes have significantly less staff in their facilities. This results in overworked, burnt out and stressed staff.
Usually part-time, underpaid staff with little or no access to benefits and will subsequently rely on the public system for support. Being unable to meet the needs of residents leads to overprescribed use of psychoactive medication. Pressure ulcers are common and require hospitalization, creating more strain on the public health-care system.
Invariably families put in more work to make up for care gaps. Private for-profit long-term care homes receive public money but provide no fiscal reporting, thus escaping public scrutiny. We don’t need more investment, we need the existing monies to go directly to benefit families and residents not to private companies.
It is time to call on our governments to phase out for-profit private services. Jane Pogson Winnipeg Let’s see a real program Re: (Dec. 11) It appears that funding for Community Connections in the downtown Millennium Library has been cut.
This library space, which was intended to provide support for the homeless, was deemed no longer safe for library staff and the public, according to Jeff Browaty, financial committee chairman. There was a time when the library was intended for lending books to readers and providing additional educative programs. It is unfortunate that we now somehow think that library space is a haven for people living on the street.
This is at best a stopgap measure which indicates that the city has not implemented adequate planning to address homelessness. While stopgap measures may be necessary, I do not believe that it is appropriate to convert existing institutions and structures with specific and intended purposes to address these problems if this deprives or impedes the public of their use. We also have transit users who are unable to use bus shelters as said structures can be taken over by the homeless.
These types of occurrences underscore the lack of political will to aggressively launch a comprehensive plan to reduce homelessness in a constructive way for all concerned. Medicine Hat, Alta. displayed such intent with a successful 10-year program that began in 2009 and reduced homelessness by placing 1,200 people in homes.
I would like to know what the comprehensive program is, if any, for Winnipeg. Maybe then libraries can return to being just libraries and bus shelters to simply bus shelters. Mary-Jane Robinson Winnipeg Advertisement Advertisement.
