Raise the Hammer

JonC >> I just gave you empirical proof that Hamilton collects almost twice as much of their revenue as a percentage of total revenue from the private sector than Oakville.

So you don't consider individuals as part of the private sector? The Government of Canada does consider them part of the private sector and that's why consumption undertaken by non governmental sources is termed "private" and not "government consumption".

>> HAMILTON'S PRIVATE SECTOR DOMINATES OAKVILLE'S

See above.

>> the Oakville Chamber of Commerce thinks the city of Oakville has a lousy private sector.

What else do you think the business community would say? All businesses want to grow and so they're calling for lower tax rates, the opening up of land for industry to build on (currently limited by Greenbelt legislation) and government to stop zoning land so as to limit their ability to run their businesses the way they see fit. These are all points that argue against government interference in the local economy, including restrictive zoning requirements and high tax rates, so thanks for reinforcing the message I'm trying to get across.

>> Whether they have more consumer goods (as per your observation) is independent of the quality of town's private sector.

Once again, private sector wealth includes the accumulated earnings of the residents of the communities in which they live and not just businesses.

>> So even in your magical land where reducing property taxes to 1% cures cancer and feeds the homeless

???

>> Residents of Oakville pay more for homes
They pay more taxes on those homes
They take their free capital (which according to you they have an obviously larger amount of) and spend it in other municipalities' private sectors.

Another way of looking at it...
They have nicer homes.
They pay a smaller percentage of their net worth in taxes.
They have more disposable income to spend elsewhere.

If your goal is to pay the least amount of taxes as possible, then yes, Hamilton is probably a great place to be, but then again living on the street is even better. However, if your goal is to live in the best community you can, then lowering tax rates is a great way to do this. By allowing people to keep a larger percentage of their net worth, you allow them to spend more money on their homes, on consumer goods, at local shops, all of which make the community a more desirable place to be. It also increases assessment values, which is why Hamilton city council should start doing it immediately, if they want to increase revenues for the long term.