Almost everyone complains about tax in general, with maybe income tax being at the top of the list. Of course most of these complaints for this tax always occurs around tax season. Then once it is past they basically forget about it. The bottom line is that complaining about taxes doesn’t change anything, but it makes the complainer feel good temporarily.
When it is an election year, no matter whether it is Federal or Provincial then tax rumblings will once again because evident. Most politicians will focus on the biggest concerns and make the necessary promises to appease the voters around these issues.
Out of the three levels of government though which is most likely to become the brunt of the complaints in the upcoming future?
Some experts say it is going to be at the municipal level and for several reasons.
What most tax payers don’t realize is that when the Federal Government or the Provincial level do good by way of the tax payers it comes with a cost. Yes, they may balance the budget. Yes, there may not be any new taxes, but the cost of their achievements had to come from somewhere. More often than not the burden is laid at the municipal level. So now this level of government becomes the bad guys. They have basically paid the price for the higher government level of achievements by way of funding cuts. So guess what, these are going to trickle down to you the tax payer.
The one area where your taxes contributions are most visibly seen is at the municipal level. The condition of the road is dependent on your tax dollars. Your municipal services dictate that you are paying for this with your tax dollars. So when these feel the brunt of the funding cuts, which in turn affects you, of course you are going to attack those on the front line. This is your municipal government. You elected them into office based on their promises. They are only able to make promises based on the current situation, so if that changes then so does their commitment to you.
What can you do about this? You can put the blame on where it truly lies. When you are considering on who to vote for in your next election, try to reflect on the cut backs that are directly affecting you, and where did they originate. You will most likely find that some of the causes stop at the decision making level of the municipality, but many are the result of decisions made through the provincial level right up to the Federal level. If you are attending town hall meetings or political meetings you may want to raise your concerns about this at that time. Chances are it isn’t going to change anything, but it is going to get those other taxpayers sitting around you thinking a little.
