By Josef Filipowicz
and Charles Lammam
The Fraser Institute
With three levels of government delivering a wide array of services to British Columbians – paid for by an equally wide array of taxes, fees and transfers – it can be difficult for citizens to understand and assess government taxation and spending – especially at city hall.
Josef Filipowicz
However, a recent Fraser Institute study sheds some light on Metro Vancouver’s 17 largest municipalities (of 21 in total) by comparing government spending, revenue and debt.
Many stories emerge from the data, but among the most striking is the marked difference between the region’s two largest cities, Vancouver and Surrey.
For starters, Vancouver far outspends Surrey.
In 2016 (the latest year of available data), Vancouver spent $1,944 per person compared to Surrey’s $1,057. The two municipalities have comparable populations but Vancouver spent 84 per cent more than Surrey.
Charles
Lammam
In fact, Surrey is the lowest spender in Metro Vancouver and has been for a decade, despite rapid population growth (almost 29 per cent over 10 years) generating higher demand for local services.
Conversely, Vancouver remained among the top three spenders regionally over the same period, without growing as quickly (under eight per cent over 10 years). Only West Vancouver ($2,583) and New Westminster ($2,225) spent more per person.
To maintain spending, municipal governments collect property taxes from homeowners and businesses, charge user fees for services such as water and civic facilities, charge for parking, and levy fees on homebuilders and property developers, to name a few revenue sources.
Altogether, Surrey collected $1,673 in revenue per person in 2016. In the rest of Metro Vancouver, only Pitt Meadows – a much smaller municipality – was a lower revenue collector ($1,661).
Vancouver, on the other hand, collected $2,693 in revenue per person – 61 per cent more than Surrey. Again, like on the spending front, West Vancouver ($3,253) and New Westminster ($2,786) are the only two other municipalities in the region to have collected higher revenues.
A large share of municipal revenue comes from local taxes, with general tax revenue representing $675 per person in Surrey, a fraction of the $1,106 in Vancouver in 2016. Most of this tax revenue comes from property taxes on homes and businesses. Importantly, city hall levies these taxes at different rates for different property classes such as residential, commercial and industrial, with the latter two typically paying much higher rates than homeowners.
Here, too, Metro Vancouver’s two largest cities diverge significantly. Commercial properties (retail stores, hotels, etc.) in the city faced a tax rate of 6.6 per cent in 2016 compared to a residential rate of 1.6 per cent, meaning many businesses faced 4.2 times the tax rate of homeowners. And heavy industry (manufacturing, cargo loading facilities, etc.) faced a rate 21.7 times greater than residences. By contrast, Surrey businesses faced 2.9 times the tax rate of homeowners and 4.6 times for heavy industry.
Higher business tax rates (relative to residential) can be problematic, potentially deterring job creators from setting up shop or discouraging existing businesses from remaining or expanding locally.
Ultimately, it’s up to Vancouverites to decide whether they receive good value for their relatively big-spending, high-taxing municipal government.
Nevertheless, the sharp contrast between Vancouver and Surrey in both spending and revenue should give residents pause.
Josef Filipowicz and Charles Lammam are co-authors of the Fraser Institute study Comparing Municipal Government Finances in Metro Vancouver, available at www.fraserinstitute.org.
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