PAGE 4, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 1984, WHITBY FREE PRESS whitby -w- Voice of the County Town lished every Wednesday -r Michael lan Burgess, Publisher - Managing Editor The only Whitby newspaper independently owned and operated by Whitby residents for Whitby residents. by M.B.M. Publishing and Photography Inc. Phone 668-61 Il The Free Press Building, 131 Brock Street North, P.O. Box 206, Whitby, Ont. L MICHAEL KNELL Community Editor CONWAY DOBBS Advertlslng Manager Second Class Mail Registration No. 5351 Cottage industry fnot paying fair share of taxes Over the past few weeks this newspaper has been reportIng on two new sets of business regulations proposed by the Town of Whitby. The first of these is the Home Occupation Use Bylaw which Is simply a regulation that will define and- Identify those enterprises operated by In- dividuals out of their own homes. However, the bylaw will not affect such people as the newspaper carrier or the neighbourhood 'Avon' lady. The intent of the bylaw Is to identify 'bona fide' business operations - L.e., businesses who make a profit to produce Income, not those used as a There was a time, not so very long ago, when diplomats were diplomatic. They were messengers, by and large, and the messages they carried were suitably pallid. There is a quotation in the Oxford dictionary, attributed to one Stubbs, which goes as follows: "As diplomacy was in its beginnings, so it lasted for a long time; the ambassador was the man who was sent to lie abroad for the good of his country." Ambassadors may stili lie, or at least cloak nasty blacks and whites in appropriate shades of grey like their political masters, but increasingly they are telling the unadorned truth and you begin to wonder if the old way was all that awful. American ambassadors are a case in point. Paul Robinson, the current American ambassador to Canada, has long been outspoken about the state of our defenses, the Foreign Investment Review, our energy policy, and other awkward aspects of our re- lations which tend to stick in Washington's craw. My own reaction, so far, has been, good on 'im. Let's have it out in the open where we can deal with it. Canada and the United States have been neighbors too long to pussyfoot around. But I sense that many of my countrymen do not feel that way about Mr. Robinson's bluntness. And the British, who are getting the same kind of treatment from their U.S. Ambassador, Charles Price, are quite clearly upset by it. In a recent speech, Mr. Price said that many Americans see Europe as the chorus in a Greek play, wailing and moaning at every tum of the plot." "A few years ago," the ambassador continued, "the complaints against the United States were lack of leadership, lack of self-confidence, lack of coherent policy. Now we are said to be too aggressive and too confident in our policies.* He went on to zap the Europeans for their prevailing gloom, for dragging their feet on the NATO decision to deploy cruise and Pershing missiles, for their ingratitude while sheltering under a U.S. nuclear umbrella, and for blaming what he suggested were their self-made economic problems on Washington. I suspect that this time the Americans have gone too far. There is a place and a time for this kind of honesty in international relations, I suppose, but I have a feel- ing that the place is not a public platform. Not in the U.K., and not now. Words are deadly weapons, and there are some words that even a firm friendship cannot survive. The Thatcher-Reagan relationship, far from being happy, has been strained since Grenada. The Americans cannot afford to spook any more allies. I wouldn't go so far as to say that what the United States needs now is a little lying for the good of the country. Perhaps Washington doesn't even need to revert to traditional diplomacy. Good manners might be enough for a while. sîdeline or hobby. This newspaper believes that it. is about time that businesses such as these were regulated not because we believe business should be regulated to death, but because these enterprises have an unfair advantage over the regular-business com- munity. First of ail, these home occupation businesses do not pay municipal business taxes. It would be fair to say that most members of Whitby's com- mercial/Industrial community pay as much as a 50 per cent surcharge on their property taxes for operating their businesses. The most that people involved in home occupation pay is their ordinary residential property taxes. When he appeared before council's ad- rministrative committee a few weeks ago, Don Frise, the president of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce called for a means to be found that wiil produce equity in business taxation. Frise also told the committee that unfair competition exists because of this inequity. It is only fair that people involved in the cottage industries pay their share of the tax burden. It shoq.ld also be pointed out that those involved in these industries also get breaks on -their per- sonal income tax in a variety of areas. The fact that they can write off part of the cost of their home for business purposes can be cited as one example. On a smaller scale their telephone bill can be examined. Because the telephone they use for business is in their home, they often pay residen- tial rates not the high commercial rates that the business mainstream is forced to pay. Perhaps Ma Bell should be taking a closer look at some of the 'residential' phones. This newspaper s fnot advocatlng that these people be put out of business - they are a vital part of our local economy. What we are saying Is that they should shoulder a fair share of the tax bur- den. Town should find an equitable means of taxing the cottage Industry even if the intent Is to be fair to their neighbours who are paying the same rates of property tax without the benefits of running a business from their home. The other regulation proposed by the town is to regulate the "fish and chip" trucks that seem to be sprouting up all over town. These refreshment vehicles are in a tax haven similiar to those en- joyed by the cottage Industries. However, they present a different set of problems in addition to these. In his report to council, planning director Bob Short pointed out that these vehicles tend to stay In one location, thereby becoming permanent In ,nature. They also produce parking and traffic problems, noise and odor problems as well as garbage disposai problems. Once again, the intent is not to ban these small businesses from our community. However, they must be brought into the mainstream of municipal life and should have to meet the standards forced upon the regular commerciallindustrial com- munity including heath and fire inspections. In both of these matters the key word is equity. People involved in these cottage industries should bear their share of the burden. If they are going to operate In a business-like fashion, then they should carry the responsibilities fostered upon the entire business community. GIT oS Ca ite9D6iÉ, AMI41re Il MIDI jiWsziic, LEFr- ov6R~.J6T Diggity makes good diggities!