Can we have improved transit without raising taxes? Yes, but we might need to settle for the proverbial Chevy instead of the Cadillac transportation plan.
As one small business owner put it on our recent survey: "I am in the midst of purchasing a new machine. I have two from which to choose. The $30,000 model or the $145,000 model. While I'd like the expensive one, I'll get the cheaper one because that's what I can afford."
The survey found that over 80 per cent of small businesses are opposed to TransLink's proposed new regional sales tax. In nine pages of comments, small business also firmly rejects the frame that the Yes side is putting around the debate - that voting No is anti-transit, or worse. For example, one lead Yes commentator referred to the small business position as "narrow-minded" - which I imagine is polite speak for selfish and stupid.
Small business owners do not feel that transportation must be supported at any cost. Their position is most accurately summed up as: Transportation yes, new taxes no. Or as another survey respondent put it: "They are collecting a lot of money already. Work with what they have."
This common sense view is supported by a comprehensive TransLink efficiency review done a few years ago by Shirocca Consulting: "Compared to Canadian peers, TransLink exhibits an abundance of equipment and staffing levels that help to explain its generally higher costs and lower efficiency and effectiveness than most of the peers, even after taking into account the challenges of its large service area ... it is important that TransLink ensures that every dollar spent gets maximum value. To do so, it should tighten budgets to encourage fiscal tension and discipline in how it delivers its services."
TransLink is collecting and spending a lot of money already. It collects gas taxes, property taxes, hydro levies and fares, and spend $1.4 billion a year. As I pointed out in a previous column, its inflation-adjusted spending has increased at a blistering pace over the last eight years (50 per cent) compared with population growth (13 per cent). But TransLink would like to boost annual spending from $1.4 billion to $2.2 billion a year, an additional 57 per cent increase over current levels.
As TransLink thinks about affordability, it would do well to remember that there is only one taxpayer. According to the Fraser Institute's Tax Freedom Day calculations, the average British Columbian taxpayer is working until June 6 for the government before putting away anything for their families. Forty-three per cent of the money we earn, on average, goes to government taxes. Is it narrow-minded of anyone in this region to want their tax dollars to be spent wisely and to feel that they already pay enough to fund transportation and the many other priorities we have for governments? One small business owner commented: "What's next, a new tax for better health care, a new tax for better education? There is enough tax paid already - if it was used in a more efficient manner."
Voting No is not a vote against transit. Voting No is a vote for an affordable transit plan and a reminder to all levels of government that we already pay a lot in taxes and we expect those tax dollars to be spent respectfully. In the words of a small-business owner: "We all want a better transportation system, but at what cost?"
Laura Jones is executive vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @CFIBideas.
