Quote:
Originally Posted by Ride
Businesses can't afford to be in that area anymore and that's from the city raising property taxes, if the property taxes were reasonable then the rents would be reasonable to do business there. But it seems like it's happening in every area where the city know's there's a potential for development so the taxes start rising and owners are pushed to sell
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Comparing what my friends pay in property taxes on their condos in Vancouver and what the rest of us pay in other muncipalities, the difference is striking. You sometimes hear business owners in Vancouver pipe up about how much property tax they have to pay. The share of property taxes between businesses and home owners definitely favours the home owners (ie. Lower taxes for home owners.)
It's no surprise that independent retailers and other interesting businesses are getting squeezed. People may cry about the loss of cultural landmarks (I like the Tiki Bar as much as the next person), but I bet most people would rather save on their property taxes and have condos come in as opposed to forking over more taxes so that niche businesses such as the Waldorf are more viable. And the starving artists who are crying foul? They're all renters anyway and probably don't vote in council elections, so the politicians could care less about them.
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