A4
MetroVanIndependent.com
April 2015
editorial
Translink cash grab
JUST SAY NO
Beginning last Monday up to May 29,
residents of Metro Vancouver are being
bombarded by feel good messages urging
them to go vote and tax themselves. Our
message to our friends and the general
public: Just say no.
This is nothing more than a financial
scam that will trigger bigger infrastructure
expenditures way into the future. Sales
taxes in British Colombia are one of the
most onerous since these are linear
cascading taxation.
What Translink essentially did was
conjure a problem that has not occurred,
initiate a fear-mongering campaign and
collect the money in advance to solve a
perceived problem. It’s nothing more than
a public relations stunt.
There is also a huge problem with
the process because taxes are collected
under a general fund. The prospect of the
provincial government dipping its dirty
hands into this blood money is possible
as it does the same with excess funds
from ICBC and BC Hydro. These utilities,
in turn, are allowed to raise rates resulting
in indirect taxation.
According to their marketing ploy, the
0.5 percent increase in provincial sales
tax will translate into $125 per household
while the provincial government raises the
minimum wage by mere 0.20 cents.
Of the projected $7.5 billion that will
be raised by this scheme, only 6 percent
will go to congestion alleviation projects
while 13 percent or an estimated $97.5
million will go to the construction of a
Patullo Bridge replacement. The rest of the
money, according to data compiled by the
Financial Post, will support an urban sprawl
with a rapid transit project up to Langley. It
will make the land in this corridor expensive
when currently it is dirt cheap.
The plan if implemented will also
trigger other cash grabs like raising vehicle
registration fees which is projected to
generate $100 million, consolidation of
the carbon tax now imposed on fuel
purchases which is expected to net $360
million, a so-called land value capture that
will net $10 million, and a new mobility tax
designed to generate tax money based on
the distance travelled rather than on fuel
used.
At some distant future, the plan is
to finally impose a road tax, similar to
Singapore, on roads built with your own
tax money.
Translink already collects a portion of
the gas pump price as the government
tax on this commodity is estimated at
0.48 cents per liter. They also collect a
portion of property taxes, about $150 per
household, as a subsidy.
Finally, Translink as a brand is toxic.
At one point, it positioned itself before
the courts as a private enterprise. It lost.
It is also profligate in its largely hidden
A reason for being: Why a newspaper?
“Why are you doing a newspaper?” I’ve been asked. The answer is very complex and quite a journey,
which has just begun. Let me tell you about it.
I had an epiphany one day on how
much influence Media (TV, Newspaper,
online social media) can have in our
world. It is absolutely massive. Media
can shape our opinion in so many different
ways including but not limited to Religion,
Politics, Conflicts, Products, Opinions,
Food, and Health, Transportation, music,
movies, financial, education and so much
more. It could be newsprint, online news,
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, books, advertisements, and TV shows. Media can
be a good influence as well as a bad . I
believe it should be used for the good of
the community.
If I talk to you personally and we both
communicate our thoughts on a particular
subject we both could change our opinion on that subject. How much more if
we write our thoughts and thousands of
people read it. How about if I write and
publish your thoughts? What if we allow
everyone to voice their opinion? What if
you get a chance to say what you think?
It really comes down to the intention
and media communication. Is it for self
interest or is it for the community as a
whole?
My first big exposure in the Filipino
community came when my wife Luisa
Marshall was offered the opportunity to
produce a TV show in 2009. It happened
really fast. One day Luisa was working on
a show to raise money for 2009 Typhoon
Ondoy at the River Rock Theatre. Then
someone from Shaw TV asked her to talk
on camera to promote the event. When
they looked at the footage they noticed
L