The following blog post was submitted by Trudy Close.

If you think only the rich property owner's in Vancouver pay more in tax, think again.

Did you know that property owners living outside the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Region receive an additional grant under the name of "Northern and Rural Area Home Owner Benefit".  This means that if you receive the basic grant of $550 in Vancouver, (presuming your assessed value is below $1,214,000), folks living outside these areas receive $770 if their property is assessed below $1,254,000 (yes  they are allowed an additional $40,000 in areas where housing is already more affordable).  The additional $200 grant was implemented in 2009 to off-set the carbon tax.

The homeowner's grant was initially implemented to help low income homeowner's with the cost of school taxes.  Governments, and in particular the current Liberal government is giving money away , the Carbon Tax credit to Northern/Rural costs the government $69 million a year.  It doesn't end there.

If you live on farmland in the Northern/Rural area with five apple trees, you would automatically receive a 50% reduction on the school tax portion of your tax bill plus qualify for the grant.

The provincial government (in 2012) has given property tax breaks to programs which are already covered by either the federal or provincial government.  If you are a senior, permanently disabled, a Canadian veteran or a low income homeowner living in "the northern and rural area" and your home is assessed under $1,254,000; you qualify for $550 plus $200 plus $275 which equals a total of $1,145 in grants. 

Consider how many homeowners pay little or no tax.

It doesn't stop yet, remember if you live in the GVRD you pay for Translink.  West Vancouver's bus service (for example) is independant, taxpayers pay their own drivers and pay again to Translink, which doesn't even service West Vancouver. How about your police force, most of the GVRD pays for their own policing.  Folks, you're paying double taxation.  

Try speaking to your local MLA about these grants, they have created such a mess, government doesn't know how to fix it. 

So who carries the burden of taxation?  If you live in the GVRD, the Fraser Valley or the Capital Region, you do.