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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1970-04-09, Page 8PAGE EIGHT ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1970 South Huron Local of Farm Union Present Brief on Education Taxes (submitted by Maxine Miller, Secretary of Local 317, South Huron.) I welcome the opportunity of presenting the farmer's case regarding school tax assessment in this province. The Farmer's Union and far- mers in general have been very concerned about the increased ' cost of education in this prov- ince. The Farmer's Union in the past has repeatedly expressed its opposition to governments concerning the method by which farmers have been taxed for education purposes. Our policy in the past and presently is that realroperty should not be ass- essedpfor education purposes. During the past decade net farm income has steadily de- clined but governments have repeatedly increased our cost of production by continuously increasing our assessment and/ or tax levy fox educational purposes at the elementary and secondary level. Provincial governments have seen fit to modernize and stream line the entire educational syst- em, by consolidation of schools, and county administration, but continue to use horse and buggy method of financing, which pro- longs and increases the injustice farmers must bear in financing education at these levels. SITUATION: The present system of taxation for school and municipal purpose, as applied to township ratepayers was initiated at a time when, as a rule, the ownership of real property meant income. This situation, at least in the case of farmers, no longer exists. While some inequities in the sh- are of municipal expenses borne by farmers exist the glaring in- justice is in the case of school tax where the service provided by this tax in no way benefits the farm land or buildings. The following will illustrate this inequity. In Howard Township, County of Kent, Ontario, it was found that an approximate average assessment on non-farm resident- ial property was $2, 700. for taxation in 1969. This would yield $172.66 in school tax. Similarily, the general run of farm assessments was $6, 500. yielding $415.68 in school tax. If we assume the farmer working the farm referred to, obtains an income of $4, 000,yearly and a similarilyskilled' worker livingin the house earns $6, 000 yearly, then the farmer -ays a school tax equal to 10.410 of his income, while the non -farmer pays a school tax equal to 2.9'o of his annual income. The farmer pays 3.6 times as mush as the non -farmer on an income basis. Much the same situation exists in Huron County. There are some business and commercial properties in the township which pay school taxes but these businesses axe able to add the tax to the selling price of their product or service and more often than not the farmer ends up paying it. The farmer so far has been unable to add this cost item to the selling price of his product. Farm real estate is an invest- ment. Does the man who in- vestt in shares of a corporation pay school tax on his invest- ment? We recognize the need for a higher standard of educat- ion, however this cost should not be tied to property. Tax- ation related to property should be the cost of servicing that property. As education is not a service to the land, therefore lands and agricultural buildings should be exempt from an education tax levy. We must also point out that over 90°jo of the rural youth that receive a secondary ed- ucation do not return to the farm but migrate to the urban centres where the corporate sector reaps the benefits of their education. RECOMMENDA TIONS:. In view of the situation that exists, we recommend that educational tax be based on the ability of the individual or corporation to pay. To make this possible ft would be necessary for provinces to make more monies available for educational purposes at el- ementary and secondary school levels. If the government finds that there is not sufficient funds in the public treasuryto pay for a higher share of edcation costs, we recommend that the addition• al monies be derived from those that benefit from a higher standard of education, mainly society in general and the cor- porate sector in particular, based on their ability to pay. Local 317 of the NFU is pres- ently circulating a petition in the townships ofUsborne, Hay, Stanley, and Stephen --and will soon be in Tuckersmith to the effect that we want the system of school taxation in this prov- ince changed as recommended . It is to £he advantage of all farmers to sign this petition. 0 Simple Precautions Often Prevent Serious Accidents Often simple precautions tak- en at the right time can save lives and prevent accidents later on. This is certainly the case with pesticides, which should be stored correctly at all times. Professor C , B . Kelly, Depart- ment of Botany, Ontario Agric- ultural College, says the ideal way to store pesticides is to keep them in their original containers. This way the user knows for certain what the material is and has the full instructizens for its use on the label. If another container has to be used to store a pesticide, it should be labelled clearly, and the original label should be saved for the directions. If the label is lost or defaced, says Professor Kelly, take the pesticide to a dump, dig a hole and bury the material under at Feeding For Mill( l( Production (This message is brought to you as a public service through the courtesy of Hensall District Co -Operative.) The skills of management and feeding are equally as import- ant as breeding to the final re- sult in a dairy operation. How- ever, good feeding and manage- ment will not bring good results unless the genetic ability of the herd to produce milk is high. Artificial breeding and the op- portunity to select sires with characteristics for high milk production, has greatly improved and to some degree, standard- ized the average genetic potent- ial of our dairy cattle population in Ontario. Differences in the average production achieved in most herds in likely to be more closely related to feeding and management program, here are a few points for consideration: (1) Feed for adequate disease control, and good herd health. (2) Feed to allow the herd to produce to the best of its gene- tic ability. (3) Feed at levels that allow for desirable economical returns to the enterprise in keeping with milk marketing conditions. (4) Feed in a manner that al- lows as much automation as possible, and efficient labour use. Fortunately for dairymen, feeding for higher production with the proper levels of nutrit- ion, will not onl , relieve stres- ses that might of ect the herd's health, such as milk fever, acetonemia, breeding problems, etc., but also result in greater economic returns by decreasing all other costs for each 100 lbs. of milk produced. least 18 inches of soil. If a neighbor wants to borrow a little week killer, fungicide or insecticide chemical, don't put it in a food container, soft drink bottle or any receptacle that is usually used for food or drink. Any small child seeing the container might eat or drink it and be poisoned; so might an adult. It would be best to give the neighbor the original pack- age and see that he returns the unused part. By taking precautions such as these there is less likelihood of accidents. 011111111P* and STEAKS FRIED CHICKEN — FRESH FISH SUNDAY DINNER SERVED FROM 3 to 7:30 P.M. Dominion Hotel Your Hosts: Marg and Ross Johnston ZURICH Enjoy dining with us, often The International Scene (by Raymond Canon) WHAT'S A TRILLION? Do you know what a trillion dollars is, or that such an a- mount actually exists? First of all, it actually does, and sec- ondly it is one thousand billion, or about 50, 000 dollars for every man, woman and child in Can- ada. That's a lot of money, and almost impossible to imagine what it would look like if placed in one pile. You may wonder why I'm talking about such a sum, when most of us are short of money, but it all has to do with a question I am frequently asked, " What, " people inquire, "is the G.N.P, of Gross Nation- al Product that we read about in the newspapers so frequently?" As I explain it to them, I like to point out that the G, N. P. of the United States is expected to reach one trillion(1, 000, 000, 000, 000) dollars this coming year and it will be the first time that a country has done, spent or earned a trillion dollars worth of anything. Anyway, the G.N.P. is in essence the total a country spends on consumer goods and services plus investment goods, plus what is spent on govern- ment goods and services togeth- er with the net total of exports minus imports. When you add all this up, and subtract from it depreciation allowances as well as what is paid in indirect taxes, you arrive at the approx- imate amount of the Gross Nat- ional Product. I have seen it expressed in other ways, but this one is, to my mind, as good as any. In case I lost you somewhere along the line, perhaps I can put it more simply by stating that when economists calculate the G.N.P„ they are interested mainly in how much is earned and spent within the country. This gives us some idea of how well a country is doing compar- ed with others if we can see how much the G.N.P. increases each year adding allowances for inflation. Each country keeps close track of its G.M.P. and it is often very nice to learn that your country has a G.N.P. that is increasing more quickly than those of most other nations. Since the total of the G.N.P, doesn't really matter too much for comparative purposes due to the great differences in popul- ation, let's look at a few figures which show how much the G.N. P. is per capita or per person. Naturally the United States comes first with almost $4, 000. For most people this makes the U.S. the richest country in the world, which is true to a certain extent. Next comes Sweden, and then Canada, followed clos- ely by Switzerland, Denmark and Western Germany. Our G.N.P. is a bout $3, 000 per capita, which isn't too bad, if it were spread equally all over the country. However, before we pat our- selves on the back and look with envy at the Americans, let's ask outselves what all this ach- ieves. In spite of the U.S, be- ing the richest country in the world, it is sixteenth in infant survival. This means that there are 15 other countries, including Canada, where babies have a better chance of living than they do in the U.S. We also don't have to be reminded of all the slurns in the U.S. while some of the so-called poorer countries (not Canada) such as Sweden, Holland or Switzerland, don't have any slums at all. In spite of the growing G.N.P. in the States, the crime rate is up, traffic moves more slowly, streets are dirtier, education is not all that good, not to mention the pollution problem. In short, it may be all very well to have a high G, N, P. but even while the Americans are congratulating themselves onutting a man on the moon andhavinga trillion dollar economy, can one not ask if what they have gained is not outweighed by what they have failed to do. To a certain ex- tent Canadians can ask them- selves the same question. Frigidaire Space Saver Priced for budget watchers! .1, 4Js•a�..4AV.., Big across -the -top Freezer Chest for 75 lbs. of frozen foods. Chill drawer for 21 lbs. of fresh meat. Wall to wall shelves. Twin Porcelain Enamelled Hydrators for 23.4 qts. of crisp vegetables and fresh fruits. Package plan- ted storage door. 229° W /1. Other Models Priced From 199.95 W./T. GINGERICH'S Ltd. Clinton ZURICH Seaforth