Fes EVER AGAIN! |DONT Wl TEVEN SE ANOHERTEE JM BENNING 70 HATE | TREES! as |WAS STILL No free lunch IRST IT was the end_of the free lunch, “now it’s the end of the free park, “~The. Vancouver park board? s plan to implement: a user-pay system for the city’s ‘recreational facilities to offset.a funding Shortfall should sound the alarm in other Lower Mainland municipalities. The board — made up of elected officials — came up with various ways to generate the $1.7 mil- lion funding cutback from the city. . Aside from draining the Hastings Outdoor Pool, the board recommended closing the iCity’s 24 wading pools, charging fees for the use. of playing fields and tennis courts, and . installing parking meters at local beaches. But it also found money to continue the pro- ject to.erect a half-million-dollar tourist information facility in Stanley Park. : As outrageous as the mean-spirited recom- mendations are, they should surprise few. After years of living on the backs of tax- payers, public facilities managers have real- ized the public’s fiscal well is now bone dry. The solution? User-pay, of course. For an elected official in the current uncoinfortable tax-revolt environment, whis- pering pay-as-you-play is the perfect panacea. But any user-pay system works only if it is implemented across the board. When tolls are placed on the new First Narrows crossing, tolls will also be placed on the current Second Narrows Bridge. When an hour’s worth of tennis costs three loonies to play on a public court in Vancouver, will public tennis courts on the North Shore and in other municipalities remain free? Maybe tolls on the Burrard Inlet crossings are not such a bad idea after all. —TETTER OFT THE DAY seecmmcrremcsmeres DONT MENTUNTHAT WORD More cultural awareness needed ; Dear Editor: Bob Hunter’s March 6 column begs our response, as we would not want the readership to believe that Mr..Hunter’s son’s experience is . the norm. Merely removing the pro- nouns “Iranian” and “Muslim” from the story resull in a non-sensa- tionalized teen-dating experience. Mr. Hunter’s assumptions create the impression that there could be no other possible reason for being jumped other than a “racially moti- vated attack,” ‘ In the emotional world of teen dating, the attack could have arisen as a result of over-protective sib- Publisher Managing Editor Associate Editor Sales & Marketing Director. Comptrolter, Peter Speck imothy Renshaw »Noel Wright ja Stewart Doug Foot lings or a past boyfriend’s jealousy. Also, Mr. Hunter's concern with the perceived “racist” reaction of the parents of his son’s s girlfriend confirms his deepest suspicions about “Muslimism” (the correct word. is “Muslim” — the people, and “Islam” —— the religion). What is needed on the North Shore is an increased awareness about other cultures, so that we are not operating on stereotypes and assumptions given to us by the media, including the North Shore News, and a greater understanding of the complexity of teenagers’ social lives. Display Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Newsroom °* 985-2131 Fax Oistribution Subscriptions Administration Once again the North Shore News has chosen to report an inci- dent that did not even happen on the North Shore. Did Mr. Hunter think that the “ultimate Canadian experience” could be achieved without the inherent problems of teenagers who fall in love? Perhaps the incident involving his son should have remained strict- ly personal and not put forth as something to be expected from any cross-cultural dating experience. Caral Blake Trish Gauntictt Lisa Barnes- North Vancouver 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 985-2131 North Shore News, founded in 969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111, Paragraph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Froe Press Ltd. and distributed to every door on the North Shore, Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates available'on request. Submissions are welcome bul we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited . Material including manuscripts and pictures which should be accomipanied by a stamped, addressed envelope. V7M 2H4 1139 Lonsdale ‘Avenue North Vancouver B.C. North Shore Managed = MEMBER Gu SN SDA DIVISION {average circulation, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday) Sewers aren Entire contents © 1994 North Shore Free Press Ltd, All rights reserved. Flattening the tax an Will pe no easy job FEW FOLKS realize how sad life is for us columnists — who know the solutions for everything, yet are con- sistently ignored by the peo- ple who should be imple- menting them. Like Finance Minister Paul Martin. Yes, with April looming again it’s time to look once more at the only type of income tax that makes sense -~ a FLAT income tax sys- tem. This column, along with a hand- tul of other clear-thinking organs and individuals, has promoted the system for years. It’s still too early to hold our breath, of course — but also far too early to throw in the towel. Sanity in government is a fragile flower to cultivate. A flat tax system has two unar- guable advantages, the first being simplicity. The tax return form needs only seven or cight lines. The top line is total income from all sources. From that deduct allowances for dependants, old age, UIC/CPP preniiums, RRSP sav- ings, and business expenses, if rele- vant — the latter greatly tightened up. On the balance of income afier those deductions, regardless of its size, a flat tax rate is charged, prob- ably around 20%. But ease of filing is only half the story, The flat tax method can actually produce MORE revenue for Ottawa from LESS tax paid by individual taxpayers. In 1989 this column analyzed the detailed effect of a flat tax of 22% on all income over $17,509. In that year Ottawa needed $85.8 bil- lion in 1988 income lax revenue from some 18 million individual taxpayers. The flat tax produced $86.66 billion, but at all income levels the taxpayer paid LESS. The examples below — federal tax only, not including provincial tax — were for a married man with two children, wife not working, maximum UIC and CPP premium credits and uo medical or charity credits (actual 1988 tax payable is shown in brackets): Income $25,060 — flat tax $1,650 ($2,111). Income $45,000 — flat tax , $6,050 ($7,235). Income $65,000 — flat tax $10,450 ($12,900). The reason for the seeming mir- acle is simple. With a flat tax the loopholes that now keep a vast army of tax accountants and lawyers busy are virtually eliminat- ed, Nobody escapes paying his | fair share. But this, alas, is also the teason : why it’s not about tp happen very soon. : Too raany people benefi t from the over $1 billion cost’of collect- ing income tax today, which includes the wages of thousands of : Revenue Canada‘employees whom : a flat tax would tender jobless. After all, the bottom line for government is votes, not dollars. Think about it as you battle with your Ti General again this April! TAILPIECES: The ever- popular West Van Easter Egg Hunt spon-’ sored by Howe Sound Lions takes .: place again Sunday, April.3, at 1° p.m. in John Lawson Park with’ prizes for 1-5 year-olds and 8-12: year-olds’ 4: North Van: Community Players are staging: Death Of A Devil until April 9 at Presentation House -— call 983- 2633 to book ... All past members of North, Van Arts Council and involved artists since 1969 are invited to ihe Council’s 25th -.° anniversary celebrations April 15 -~— # Judy Dennis Benefit Concert with the Pro Nova Quartet and gala reception. Call 988-6844 for details ... Birthday greetings tomorrow, March 31, to North Van’s Art Weseen and Mount Seymour Lion Jack Mitchell ... And many happy returns of Fri day; April 1, to North Van's Car! Busby. WRIGHT OR WRONG: There’s no mystery why fatks don't live within their income — they don’ese8 consider it living. DAFFODIL GALS: (left to right) Grace Love, Jean Andrews and ‘ Gulshan Mitha of the Cancer Society's North Vancouver unit’ - say a big thank-you to the many volunteer daffodil sellers who |. launched this April’s fundraising drive in North Shore mails.