Building a sustainable fiscal base for our City and communities:
As your councillor I will support initiatives to participatory budgeting processes to develop new taxation strategy for local governments, such as:
- Lobbying the provincial government to stop collecting property taxes (this would allow local governments to collect $9.8 billion more in revenue)
- Lobbying the federal government to transfer one cent of the GST (this would add $5 billion to the coffers of local governments). As well, the federal government should establish a permanent transfer funded out of income taxes, give the local governments a rebate of the GST municipalities pay and make the municipal share of the federal gas tax permanent.
Where do local governments get their revenue?
- Property taxes 53%
- User fees and sales of goods 22%
- Transfer from provinces/territories and federal government 17%
- Other taxes and investments 8%
It has not been always like this. In 1992, local governments received 26% of their revenue from other levels of government. Back in 1990s, provincial and territorial governments insulated themselves from cuts in federal transfers by cutting their own transfers to local governments A huge burden now falls on property taxes, which are not based on ability to pay.
Cities and communities need access to a long-term and predictable source of revenue that grows with the economy.
*Data compiled from Canadian Labour Congress series “Municipalities Matter”
