The Rural Voice, 1983-04, Page 52ONE MAN'S OPINION
A taxing
situation
by Adrian Vos
If there is anything to be learned from
the debate on property taxation at the
March meeting of the Huron Federation
of Agriculture, it was the deep distrust
Canadians have against government in
general.
There are grave and sincere doubts of
what government may do to us, either
now or in the distant future.
The issue of property tax rebate has
been on the minds of a number of
Huron county farmers for some years,
and every time the issue comes to the
fore, it is the fear of losing one's rights
that surfaces most often.
Fear is expressed that if taxes are
rebated, which has taken place already
for a number of years, the government
will have the right to titles of that land,
and that urbanites will feel free to
trespass. Since the tax rebate program
began, this has not taken place any-
more than before, and there is no
reason to believe this will increase.
Trespass laws have been strengthened
in recent years and non -landowners
have become more aware of it.
The difference with the present rebate
is two -fold. The old one was a measure
by regulation and any time a minister
would feel a need to economize, it
could be withdrawn. The new one will
be enshrined in the law and be more
difficult to change or abolish.
'deed good farm help? w h) not contact
the
Canada Farm
Labour Pool
office in your area for qualified help
during the busy season
Walkerton 881-3671
Owen Sound 371-9522
Canada
Farm Labour Pools
The purpose of the property taxation
change is to divide the education
portion of taxes more equitably, shift-
ing the burden from land to residences.
In other words, from land to people.
This has no bearing on property
rights. Since the landowner still pays
the taxes, his rights are not infringed
upon.
The argument brought up at the
meeting that the federal government's
refusal to enshrine the absolute right to
property in the constitution has a
bearing on provincial property taxation
is not valid. There never was anywhere
an absolute right to property. There are
over one hundred bodies of govern-
ment, from schoolboards to federal
ministries having the right to expropria-
tion now, and they have always had
that right. Any absolute right to proper-
ty would make the country ungovern-
able.
Canadian laws hold that: "The right
to property being inviolable, no one
shall be deprived of it, except in cases
of evident public necessity and on
condition of just indemnity".
No one is ever completely right or
completely wrong. It is a valid point
that large landowners could tear down
surplus homes to avoid taxation. This
flaw should be addressed.
Another valid point to consider: those
who do not want to take advantage of
the scheme will be obliged to pay
double taxes compared with their
neighbours, as their residences will be
subject to the equivalent of a residence
on a severed lot elsewhere in the
municipality.
Finally, laws are made to define the
dividing line between the rights of the
few against the rights of the many. Just
as exemptions on traffic laws would
create chaos, so could exemptions on
taxation. But just as there are people
who can apply to be exempt from
seatbelt use without endangering traf-
fic, so can farmers be exempt from
education tax on their land. •
Adrian Vos, a regular columnist with
The Rural Voice is a freelance writer
from Huron county.
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THE RURAL VOICE, APRIL 1983 PG. 49