VANCOUVER, B.C.: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s (CTF) B.C. office has released its annual Taxpayers’ Naughty and Nice List for 2015, and three city councils – along with Premier Christy Clark – deserve lumps of coal from Santa this Christmas.

“It was another tough year for taxpayers, and that means Santa’s sleigh will be weighed down with coal for various politicians and governments,” said CTF B.C. Director Jordan Bateman. “Hopefully next year these leaders make St. Nick’s job a little easier by lightening our tax load – and his sleigh.”

The Nice List includes the public for pushing back against some high-profile, expensive schemes hatched by various politicians; three mayors (Derek Corrigan, Michael Smith and Nicole Read) who opposed the TransLink sales tax; the Legislature for posting MLA expenses; and Lower Kootenay Band member Wayne Louie for winning a significant court case against his chief and council.

“In 2016, we hope more politicians follow the lead of these on the Nice List and help taxpayers by reducing waste, lowering taxes and increasing accountability,” said Bateman.

See the full 2015 Taxpayers’ Naughty and Nice List below.

---- 

The B.C. Taxpayers’ Naughty and Nice List 2015

The Taxpayers’ Naughty List

• Surrey City Council. Fresh off an election campaign where no incumbent mentioned a tax hike, council brought in a new $100 recreation levy, a 2.9% property tax increase and a 28% jump in secondary suite fees. Then they spent months campaigning for a 0.5% sales tax for TransLink – an agency loathed in their city. Now Surrey is looking at keeping the “temporary” 1% road levy, another 2.9% property tax hike, a 3.9% increase in fees and levies, and a 10% jump in the recreation levy. “If the future lives in Surrey like they say, it’s proving to be an expensive neighbour,” said CTF B.C. Director Jordan Bateman. “Taxpayers are wondering where all the millions in taxes from all these new residents are going.”

• Victoria City Council. A group that lurched from one mistake to another, whether it be the years-late, massively over-budget Johnson St. Bridge project, partnering in the Seaterra debacle (including spending millions AFTER killing the sewage project), spending thousands to add “an interactive musical railing” to parkade stairwells, pushing for a 2 cent per litre gas tax hike, and spending $8 million on a building that could have gone to the private sector. “If this were a boxing match, the referees would stop the fight – taxpayers keep absorbing body blow after body from this council,” said Bateman. “All of these blunders distract from the real issues facing Victoria: homelessness and downtown shops going out of business. But, hey, at least the parkade handrails make music!”

• Premier Christy Clark. The premier is delivering another lump of coal for taxpayers this Christmas season with yet another Medical Services Premium (MSP) tax hike. From Dec. 31, 2010, to Jan. 1, 2016, the tax has jumped from $108/month to $150/month – 39%. And that rate is the same for families making $30,001 a year, or those making $10 million. “The MSP tax is unfair and onerous,” said Bateman. “We hope the premier follows our advice and freezes this tax and reviews it for fairness, administration costs, and looks for other options.”

• Mayor Gregor Robertson. Robertson seemed hyper-focused on just two things this year: travelling the world and hiking our taxes. This year alone, Robertson was spotted at the Vatican, China, Paris, New York and Washington, D.C. When he was home, he spent months unsuccessfully trying to get Lower Mainlanders to hand TransLink a sales tax, and he raised Vancouver property taxes. Cementing his place on the Naughty List was a $556,000 severance payout to his handpicked city manager, Penny Ballem. “At least Gregor got photo ops with the Pope, the prime minister and John Kerry this year,” said Bateman. “All his residents got was more taxes.”

The Taxpayers’ Nice List

• Joe and Jane Public. Taxpayers pushed back against the elites this year – defeating TransLink’s 0.5% sales tax, scuttling the yoga bridge, and killing the Kamloops theatre tax hike. “Many taxpayers are stretched thin and are tired of seeing tax dollars spent on whatever whim the governing class has,” said Bateman. “They see efficiency as the way to increase service.”

• Derek Corrigan, Michael Smith, and Nicole Read. Three mayors stood up for taxpayers in the TransLink sales tax debate against the pressure of 19 colleagues, the unions, the business groups, the environmental groups, and more. They said TransLink wasted too much of our money to be trusted with any more of it – and the public sided with them. “These three were under tremendous pressure from other mayors, demanding they buckle and support a wasteful organization,” said Bateman. “Corrigan, Smith and Read stood tall, and were proven right.”

• Wayne Louie. Six years after five Lower Kootenay Band leaders secretly and illegally helped themselves to $25,000 in band funds, band member Wayne Louie took them to court and won a judgment ordering them to pay the money back. Wayne spent his own money to fight the case, while the leaders used band funds. The chief flew first class to Vancouver and ate out on the band’s dime, while Wayne took a 15-hour bus ride and packed a sandwich. “Folks like Wayne Louie, who stand up for what’s right at great personal cost to themselves, deserve our thanks,” said Bateman.

• The B.C. Legislature. In a year of triple delete and non-responsive records, the B.C. Legislature did take one positive step forward toward transparency: in March, they began posting MLA expense receipts. “We asked for this for six years and it finally happened in 2015,” said Bateman.