CambridgeToday received the following letter in response to property tax increases.
Waterloo region property tax increases have exceeded inflation for years.
In the long run, people will not be able to afford their homes.
Increases on a percentage basis are outstripping annual increases in household incomes by two and three times, eroding away our disposable income.
A growing number of the most vulnerable are defaulting on their property taxes or having to sell their homes and move away.
Over 10 per cent of Cambridge property taxpayers are now in arrears.
The growth in property taxation can't keep exceeding the growth in household income. It's simply not sustainable. We all know it.
So when will it stop? When will the region's governments get their spending under control?
We need greater efficiency and effectiveness in the use of our hard-earned property tax dollars.
The Property Taxpayers Alliance is asking for a clear documented plan presented by the Region of Waterloo and its constituent cities and townships showing how and by when they will bring annual property tax increases back down in line with, or below, the growth in our incomes and ability to pay (using inflation as a proxy for income).
John B Waylett
Cambridge
