1139 Lonsdale Avanne Korth Yancouver, B.C. V7M 214 PETER SPECK Publisher 925-2131 (101) Operations Manager 985-2131 (166) Doug Foot i Comptroller 985-2131 (133 Olaptey & Real Estate Fax: , Aoceunting & Main Office Fax Werth Shore Mews, founded in 1969 as an _ tedepeadent suburban newapeper and qualified wader Schedule U1, Parngreph B11 of the “Excise Tax Act, is published cach Wedeesday, Fridty and Sundey by North Shore Free Press “Lad. and distributed to every door on tlie North > Shore, Canada Foct Canadian Publications Mail ° Sales Froduct Agreement No. 0097238. ' Mailing rates available on request. 615 (ema crak Vesey SS Entire contents cf © 1996 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved. Lae ee eee ee ee ee ee ee ae ITS REGISTERED. mews viewpoint _ WRAA Pail CEE TH NAGY I LEY TIOAE SLED RNC UC Community turf CRIMINOLOGY expert is calling for a regional police ferce. Ledividual munici- pal responsibility for policing is viewed as an snachronism. But bigger is not necessar- ily always better. ~ On the surface, the benefits from regional- ization are lowered administrative costs and a boost in policing morale (read: a greater oppor- tunity for advancement within a larger pool of Jobs). But West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager and Port Moody Mayor John Northey are correct in sticking up for the local control of basic police services. It’s more than a simple expres- / sion of sticking up for one’s turf to say that municipal controi of policing activity enhances the cause of community policing. It’s critical to that reality. Crime victims complain about police not being around when they are needed and wonder why home break-ins or other ACROSS THE border a new Boston Tea Party may be brewing. Republican presi- dential hopefuls are busily — promoting a “flat” tax sys- tem. It's an idea long overdue on both sides of the border, In Canada clear- thinking individuals and organs —- including this column — have been demonstrating its benefits for years. But those benefits, alas, are also the Neel _ teason why governments oppose it tooth and nail. The first big gain would be an eight or nine-line tax return form hardly bigger than a postcard. You'd Wright property crimes are not police priorities, They complain about encountering bureaucracy and indifference. But better service means building tight and very local partnerships. The relationship requires hands-on political leadership, whether’ it’s through a community police board or a police liaison committee. At the other end of the equation is citizen involvement, working proac- tively with police. The key is Iccal input. Everybody is clear about the challenges and required priorities. It’s in our bones and, yes, it’s a matter of familiarity with the turf. Rather than a blanket call for a single, dis- | tant police force to cover the Greater’ Vancouver region, energy could be put to bet- ter use by enhancing the coznmunity beat cop’s , effectiveness. Implement what Northey sug- gests: specialized, technical policing support at A regional tevel. Move to flat tax system over the tax saving. The explanation for this apparent miracle is confirmed by recent research in the U.S. There it has been shown that every reduction in . top tax rates from 1921 to 1989 resulted in increased revenue for the tax man. With a fat tax there would be a double reason for this. First, the loopholes that now keep a vast army of tax accountants, lawyers and bureaucrats busy would virtually disappear. Nobody would escape paying his fair share. Meanwhile, the cost of collecting tax —- in Canada today over $1 bil- lion — would be dramatically cut. Even more important to the hither and yon enter your total income from all sources and deduct a basic allowance calculated to relieve poverty-level incomes from any tax at all. Then there'd be five or six other simple deductions — ¢.g., UIC and CPP premiums, depen- dents, age over 65, RRSP savings and any personal business expenses (these latter greatly tightened up). The balance of your income — regardless of size — would then be taxed at a single flat rate. Somewhere between 16% and 20% has been suggested. Several years ago this column analysed the effect of a flat tax of 22% on all income over $17,500, the model being a married man with two children and a non-work- ing wife. Surprise, surprise! The flat tax would have produced nearly $1 bil- lion more revenue than Ottawa actually collected that year. Yet for incomes all the way up to $65,000 and more the flat tax was less. And the higher the income, the greater economy is the incentive for tax- payers to earn more because they keep more of the money they work harder to get. All the evidence shows increased income taxed at a moderate rate produces more tax revenue than limited income taxed ata high rate. ... Sadly, however, you shouldn't hold your breath. Too many people benefit from that billion-dollar tax collection industry. A flat tax would render tens of thousands of Revenue Canada employees jobless. EAS EPEC AE MLTR AS ROTM TOO matbox Dear Editor: It was with some shock and more than a modicum of out- rage that I read of our govern- ment’s plan to amalgamate West Vancouver and North Vancouver schcol boards in the name of saving money, broad- ening programs, and sharing expertise. I was reassured, however, by: the swift denunciation of this © plan by administrators, trustees. . and superinterdents. As they so rightly point out,” West Vancouver is special — unique — and quite unlike | North Vancouver. I have nothing 2gainst North | Vancouver. Indeed, I visited it, : once, and despite my misgiv- , ings found’ its people. quite well-mannered and friendly. They seemed eager to chat and when I needed’ directions were willing and néarly able to..: articulate them. ! haven't had” occasion to retum but certainly don’t fear doing so. Admittedly, 1 don’t -let my. children play with children from there — although sotiie.- time ago I did allow my family to wave, to’a little flock. of chil- dren on the other’ side of Capilano River. It was. such good fun. : ‘Like our. community, our, schools ‘are not better’ than i theirs, just different. It is. the §’ differences that should be Pre served. ; Our government, in its zeal, clearly does not, see it: thus.” Reduce the number of districts to two if necessary, but please don’t tamper with us. © Drew A. Meikle West Vancouver due Even more important is the use | all governments make of complicat-” ed tax systems nowadays to push us around in the ways they believe we should go — whether cr not we agree, Taxes are no longer only about money. As powerful social engineering tools, they’ re about control, - That's why we may have to wait for a new kind ef Boston ‘Tea Party - ’ -across the border before we can hope to flatten Canada’s tax man! eee YOUR HEALTH FUTURE? Quiz. N. Shore Regional Health Board Chairman Diansz Hutchinsen Saturday, Jan. 27, at a 9:30-11:30 a.m. information meeting in West: Van Library sponsored by MLA)... Jeremy Dalton ... Sunday, Jan. 28° at 11:30 a.m. B.C. Reform leader. Jack Weisgerber talks to a brunch |. . e meeting with potential N. Shere candidates in Cheers Restaurant, 123 East 2nd, North Van —- call “isn ia reserve brunch tickets ($15). : WRIGHT OR WRONG: Keep t wos the middle of the road and you get hit by the trucks on both sides, .