Drive Out the Tax Coalition Launches Campaign to Oppose Translink’s 200% Parking Tax Grab
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2010.
Vancouver, BC — As Translink implements yet another tax grab to facilitate it’s uncontrolled spending, a broad coalition of business,, retail, hospitality, real estate, parking, building owners, and community organizations today launched a public campaign called “Drive Out the Tax” in opposition to implementation of a 200% tax increase to parking costs in Metro Vancouver effective January 1, 2010.
“The campaign is intended to educate the public to the fact that according to the Provincial Comptroller General for five years Translink had no plan and continued to spend despite knowing they couldn’t afford their actions and now want some parkers to pay for the consequences of their actions,” said Charles Gauthier, spokesperson for the Drive Out the Tax Coalition and Executive Director of the Downtown Business Improvement Association.
“We hope that Translink as the agency responsible for administering the movement of people and goods throughout the region takes a second look at the unintended economic and inequitable impacts of this punitive tax. In particular now given the fragile state of our economy, we want Translink to work with us to find alternate reasonable solutions that are based on a true user pay system and that support the environment,” stated Charles Gauthier.
“The economy is just starting to grow but is very fragile. This kind of punitive rate shock drives people away from certain areas of Metro Vancouver, undermines competitiveness and investment, and harms the Arts, businesses, and retail stores,” stated Mark Startup of Shelfspace.
“The tax is inequitable and applies only to paid parking, meaning that if I park in one location that is a paid parking lot I pay a 27.05% tax on my parking costs, but if I park across the street in a lot where the parking is built into a building lease like a mall or on the street I don’t pay. This is not fair for businesses or the public, nor is it a disincentive to drive,” said Charles Gauthier “Our research shows 4 in 10 people consider parking and its costs before making the decision to come downtown. This will hurt,” concluded Gauthier.
“According to Translink’s own research, drivers no longer travel solely from the suburbs into the downtown core for work, shopping and entertainment, but rather in a variety of directions throughout the Metro Vancouver region. This tax in fact will be collected almost exclusively from downtown locations. It arbitrarily singles out some parkers and some businesses and is not a user pay system,” said Mike Bishop President of the Building Owners and Managers Association.
The Drive Out the Tax Coalition is a growing broad based coalition of over 30 businesses, organizations and associations from retail, hospitality, business, representing parking at businesses post secondary institutions, healthcare and office buildings in Metro Vancouver.
- 30 -