There Is Only One Taxpayer

Did you think McGinty forgot this when he gave the city new taxing powers? I doubt it but it took him off the hot seat for a while and those that voted for change might ask why he hasn't taken back some of the downloading that mean, mean Mike Harris put on the city when he forced amalgamation on cities and took the education $$$ off the backs of city homeowners. Would we be in such bad shape if city council, under Lastman and a council of which Miller was a member, had quickly implemented the various components of amalgamation and proven or dis proven that the impact of amalgamation would have been revenue neutral.

New taxes stink, but may be only way By ROB GRANATSTEIN Mayor David Miller announced yesterday he is rolling out his best dog-and-pony show to sell the city on his new taxes, and then hopes to call a special meeting of council to get those taxes passed. Mayor, where have you been? (Even Miller agrees that's a fair question.) If you recall, Miller tried to get $356-million worth of land transfer and vehicle registration taxes passed at the July council meeting to help bridge the $575-million budget hole Toronto faces next year. He failed. The anti-tax lobbyists outplayed the mayor in Round 1. The Toronto Real Estate Board -- representing real estate agents who feared lost sales, among other issues -- beat the mayor at the political game. How embarrassing. Miller did succeed in leaving city residents spitting mad at him for this bid to thump them with much higher taxes. In Round 2, Miller and City Manager Shirley Hoy hit Toronto residents where it hurt -- by threatening closures of community centres, libraries, and outdoor rinks, plus imposing a steep TTC fare hike. Nasty, but effective, it appears. Sun cartoonist Andy Donato had it bang on in his cartoon yesterday, it's like the mayor has put a gun to all of our heads. Sure another gun is being held to Miller's head by the province. Just look around Ontario. The City of Ottawa, for example, is in a similiar financial mess to us due to downloading. This isn't all Miller's fault. There isn't $575 million worth of fat to cut in this city. You could clean up our fiscal house forever (as we should) and not find a half-billion dollars. But Miller isn't leading us out of the mess, either. And he is certainly partially to blame. So, here we are in Round 3, as Miller tries to get his taxes passed before month's end. If he can convince two-thirds of council to agree to reopen the debate, he'll easily get his tax plan approved. Yes, it stinks. But we haven't seen one substantial, realistic plan from anyone else at City Hall to solve it any another way. The city's budget must be balanced by law. Whining is worth nothing. In the end, we always pay.