Dear Editor,
Letter writer Chiyo Buston incorrectly argues that ‘only property owners pay property taxes.’ The hidden assumption of this is that because renters don’t pay property taxes, they don’t deserve the same consideration of municipal government as property owners.
The fact is that property taxes are hidden in rental charges. If the city raises property taxes, no owner will absorb this added cost and will simply pass it on to the renter in the form of higher rental fees. That said, all citizens are worthy of equal consideration by governments no matter how much taxes they pay, that is a fundamental cornerstone of democracy.
Murray Martin, Burnaby
