Local businesses are reacting with much angst and gnashing of teeth to the new taxes being proposed by the Vancouver City Council. I can’t say that I blame them. Many are still digging out from the damage the pandemic wreaked on their bottom line. This new tax will likely really hurt. My husband and I have returned to theaters and there are rarely more than a dozen people there. Even with the senior discount, we pay close to $50 for 2 tickets, popcorn and two bottles of water. The increase in theater tickets is not likely to stop us from attending as we rarely go more than once monthly. If they can no longer afford to validate parking, that might. I wonder … if the city was not giving multiyear tax breaks to the developers and purchasers of million-dollar condos, would they still have a $43 million deficit to fill?