| MPP Marion Boyd (NDP--London Centre) blamed the
Conservative government's "incompetence'' for creating problems for municipalities
such as London. "It's the old cookie-cutter approach to government of one-size-fits-all and it doesn't work. A single mould doesn't fit every municipality,'' she said. |
By JULIE CARL AND JOHN HAMILTON, Free Press Reporters A tax
revolt is brewing as London looks to Queen's Park for relief from new tax legislation that
will cap this year's business property tax increases at 10 per cent. London's board of control met with the area's four MPPs yesterday to ask for changes to Bill 79, expected to be passed Thursday. The bill would cap tax increases at 10 per cent this year and five per cent in each of the next two years. That means businesses that saw massive increases in their tax bills after the new provincewide property assessment system was introduced would get a break. But it also means London would have to find another $10 million in revenue. Without the changes, Mayor Dianne Haskett said, London will have to claw back taxes from businesses that saw decreases under the new system. That's where the city could face a tax revolt. Katherine Harris, a real estate consultant with legal training, said she believes the city doesn't have the authority to take back money. She's telling clients who saw a drop in their 1998 tax bills to refuse to pay the clawback. "What is fair? That is what my clients always pay. What is fair," said Harris. The city can serve notice of a tax sale after someone fails to pay taxes for three years. At that point, Harris would file objections on behalf of her clients and take the case to court, she said. Haskett said she hopes MPPs will succeed in getting changes to the bill. London and other municipalities that have been through recent reassessments are unfairly penalized by Bill 79, while Toronto and other areas not reassessed in years are favoured, the mayor said. "A Toronto problem shouldn't be solved on the back of London," Haskett said. She gave as an example a small downtown business that saw a 1998 tax bill of about $6,100, a $3,600 decrease from 1997. Without relief from Bill 79, the city would issue a 1999 tax bill that would take back $2,800 from 1998 and include a 1999 bill of about $8,400. The total 1999 bill would be more than $11,000. "I told them (the MPPs) if they think they heard an outcry with the 1998 bills, wait till the '99 bills go out." Controllers Dianne Whiteside, Russ Monteith and Orlando Zamprogna agree. "If London taxes have to go up after we've worked to get it (tax increases) to zero, the people will know the culprit and that's the province,'' Whiteside said. "The blame for this problem doesn't lie on our shoulders," Zamprogna said. MPP Bob Wood (PC--London South) said he'll pitch for regulations that would provide "a made-in-London solution as long as it doesn't hit the ones who had really large increases this year.'' Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dianne Cunningham (PC--London North) said if London can show it has done all it can to mitigate the wallop of tax increases, the finance minister will likely meet with city representatives. "It's an issue of fairness. We must find a balance between those who face a large increase and those who would get a decrease." MPP Marion Boyd (NDP--London Centre) blamed the Conservative government's "incompetence'' for creating problems for municipalities such as London. "It's the old cookie-cutter approach to government of one-size-fits-all and it doesn't work. A single mould doesn't fit every municipality,'' she said. |
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Marion Boyd, MPP London Centre
marionboyd@home.com