George Harrison was right

by Shawn Lackie

Got my property tax bill in the mail the other day for 2026. I know, I know, let’s not go there. But, as always, I feel I must say something. You should be listening to the excellent Beatles tune, Taxman written by George Harrison, while you read this.

So here goes. The latest half-year interim bill is equal to what we paid for the whole year when we first moved back to Port Perry, 19 years ago. And while I am more than aware things go up (like the price of gas and potato chips) some things go waaaayyyy up, more than others. Like residential property taxes.

When I was a kid and would listen to the adults, they always had two things they would constantly beef about. Taxes and politicians. Not necessarily in that order. I always wondered all those years ago why the obsession with these two things. Now I know.

The politicians thing I will leave alone for very obvious reasons. Talk about chasing your tail. The tax thing? That’s a horse of a completely different colour.

Canadians can pay up to 33 percent on Federal Income Tax, or more. We pay tax on just about everything we buy on a day to day basis. Seems we can’t escape that. Remember when the feds gave us the tax holiday on restaurants and a few other categories a few months back? It was only for 60 days but stats show people went nuts and were dining out well more than they did usually. That says a lot.

I know this is an old fart memory but I will share anyway. When we were kids, we might go to a restaurant and “dine out” once a month if that. My father was, how do I say this?, Fiscally responsible (read CHEAP) but that was also the status quo back then. Pre McDonalds, Pre fast food, A and W was the drive in for a cheap burger out. So when the feds did everyone a favour, especially those who owned the eateries, it was a food feast for the ages. But it didn’t last.

Back to reality of an extra 13 percent on anything you bought. Hey that adds up. If you buy houses in Toronto, you are subject to a double land transfer tax which was instituted years ago in the David Miller regime. Talk about a cash grab. They have raised that tax again for “luxury” places over a certain price threshold. Which, if you consider the cost of homes in Toronto, it doesn’t take much to top the 2 million price range for an average abode.

In the Durham Region we have been reading non-stop about what rates the different municipalities will raise their tax levels to. My question always goes back to why? I get the cost of living going up but some of these rates are silly. Mostly to pay the cost incurred by the bloated size of the current staffs on these same municipalities.

It used to be you had to work in the big city to make the kind of dollars which are being thrown around in Scugog these days, not anymore. It’s great if you can get it and enjoy the luxuries of small town living while being paid big city bucks. Problem is someone has to foot the bill. And I could be wrong but I get the impression taxpayers are getting to the point they have paid enough.

It is time for some fiscal responsibility.

Feel free to check out this story and more on my blog site at: https://slackie14.wixsite.com/buy-sell-and-more