Congrats Sue

Congratulations to HRM Councillor Sue Uteck for speaking out against Kaptain Kelly’s High Speed Bedford to Halifax economic hole in the water. It’s refreshing to finally see some financial responsibility, intelligence and reality come from behind Councils tightly ( and illegally?) closed doors.

If real estate values are down why are assessments and taxes up?

Real estate prices in Nova Scotia are down nationally 8% from last year according to a study done by The Canadian Real Estate Association and Nova Scotia is down around 1% yet our assessments for taxes are up. Would one of the members of City Council or the Cabinet Minister responsible for this act like to explain this?

I can explain it. Regardless of fiscal realities governments take more money annually. On our houses if the provincial people dropped the assessment to truly mirror home values in Nova Scotia HRM council would have boosted the tax rates.

How do we get the message across that enough is enough. Spend the money were mandated and needed.
NO high speed ferries from Bedford to Halifax
NO big tax dollar paid for costly sporting events
NO subsidizing multi millionaire rock bands.

Perhaps its time the tax payer looked at a tax strike even if it's illegal. If enough with hold their taxes the city and the province couldn't do a thing but finally listen between elections.

If you would like to ask the Mayor how this can be or you elected representative on city council E Mail addresses are listed on the right.

TRUE TAX REFORM for your consideration.

HRM's new tax reform is nothing but a tax reshuffle. They will lower taxes on condos and apartment dwellers and are already doing away with the business occupancy tax. To make these short falls up they will look to the home owners. Councillor Russell Walker told us at one meeting that he expects to see home taxes, outside old Halifax, double to triple in cost. Can you afford this. It's time for the city to look at true tax reform, do away with the land value based system and look at an income based system.

This will address all the problems that the civic government says are in the present system such as people losing the family home because it is assessed so high for taxes that they cannot afford it. People who see their income drop as a result of a death of a spouse, retirement, sickness or unemployment. It will also cut down on the number of employees needed at city hall.

Do away with municipal taxes, as we now know them. The only bill you will get from the city is for water and only water usage will be on the bill. This way people who consume or waste water will pay more.

To replace the present system of taxation add ¼ of 1%: or ½ of 1%: or even a full 1% to the income tax form. Ottawa collects it and turns it over to the municipality. When filing tax returns people would list their gross income deduct the personal allowances and pay a percent of the next line. Business would take their gross earnings, deduct T4 amounts and anything paid out to share holders and pay a percentage of that amount.

The pluses.
1. People who have land from their family but don’t have the wealth to pay the present system would pay according to their income and not lose their home.
2. If your income drops for any reason; you’re out of work; retirement; death of a spouse; for any reason you would pay less taxes to the city because your taxes would be directly linked to you earnings.
3. Everybody pays directly no hidden taxes in rents etc. Therefore rents should drop when this is instituted. No condo land taxes on top of owner’s taxes.
4. Somebody with money but living in a modest home would pay according to their ability.
5. Fewer employees at city hall. We pay for a finance department at all three levels of government so they can tax us and collect the taxes. This triple service cost can be stopped with this system.
6. Business would contribute according to their income. Nobody would be left out.
7. The city would not have to take drastic action such as selling a persons house or forcing them to sell it. Ottawa has the power to garnishee wages at the source.
8. We would not need an assessment department in city hall or to pay the province for doing assessments.

There may be some wrinkles that have to be ironed out but as a basis for true tax reform I feel that this addresses and offers solutions to the problems in the present system as well as lowering operating costs for the city.

Who sets the budgets?

Annually, somewhere in January, we'll see a news story telling us the snow clearing money is almost all or entirely gone and the city must dip into emergency funds. Who is responsible for making up this perpetually short budget? It's evident that he she is totally incapable of doing their job so let's replace them with somebody competent in this field.



Better yet find the person who sets the budgets for money to chase Fred MacGilliavry's economic nightmares and to pay for council's junkets, they never seem to have any problem with budgeted available funds and switch these two people around. That way there will be no shortages for the necessary things like snow removal, pot hole fixing and policing and if, when the news story says that there is a shortage of funds for a third of the council to take a junket somewhere of for Fred MacGilliavry or his successor to get involved in some fly by night scheme, so what? Tough bananas, at least the needed things are looked after.

Monday: Who does (or doesn't) do the bydget work in city hall?

This weeks Lipstick on a Pig award goes to Finance Minister Jamie Muir

This week we are awarding two Lipstick on a pig awards and they both go to our beloved provincial Finance Minister Jamie Muir. The first is for his statement that, after he apparently broke the law by giving money intended to pay down the debt to universities,he would change the law in the future. If anybody else broke the law he or she would be in court. Why aren't the police looking for Mr. Muir with handcuffs. We are all equal but it seems some are more equal than others.
Second award for his stirring speech telling us how fees had to go up to match the 3% inflation. Correct me if I'm wrong Mr. Muir but we pay fees daily almost hourly in one form of taxation or another in this province. What are the taxes for if not to supply these services. It seems that the Nova Scotia government has hit bureaucratic Nirvana where all the money that comes in pays for the layers of civil servants and we have to pay every time we use the system. Proof that a monopoly leads to gouging and high costs.
You can plan to change the law but it still stands that you've broken the law Jamie and you can claim higher fees are needed but we pay are taxed white daily to pay for them. You're putting lipstick on two pigs trying to make them look better but they are still two pigs.
Congratulations to Jamie Muir this weeks winner of two lipstick on a pig awards.