More and more taxes at every level of government are being disguised as ‘fees’, so that politicians can boast they did not raise taxes, and therefore keep their jobs after the next election.
However, consumers still bear these costs, and Greater Napanee’s bag tag tax is one of them. Apparently, although we citizens pay a lot in property taxes, it still doesn’t cover services such as garbage removal. When bag tags were first introduced, it was supposed to be an incentive for people to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost, thus diverting waste away from land fills. Now, we will be forced to pay for 25 tags per year through our property taxes, whether or not we use them. This is a strong disincentive for recycling and composting, isn’t it? Most people won’t put in the little bit of extra effort when they’ve already been forced to pay as if they’re throwing the same stuff away in a garbage bag. My household does not put out a garbage bag each week. I certainly would not use 25 tags between June and December.
In 2024, will we all be taxed another $100 or more and receive yet more bag tags? Will the cost have to go up to cover the administrative and mailing fees to send tags to each household? Will we be able to return unused tags for reimbursement? When people move away from this area, can they get reimbursed?
This increase, and the forced purchase of 25 tags, is not a well thought-out plan, and it should be scrapped. That can be done without a bag tag!
Sincerely,
C.R. Freymond
Napanee