News Release
HRM Will Not Tax Property Owners to Fund Equalization
(Thursday, April 19, 2001) - Mayor Peter Kelly advised that Halifax Regional Municipal Council has informed the Provincial Government it will not tax property owners to fund equalization payments under any new Municipal Equalization Formula.
"HRM Council remains adamantly opposed to property tax being used to fund equalization,'' HRM Councillors said in a letter sent this week to Premier John Hamm, Municipal Affairs Minister Angus MacIsaac, and Anna Allen, President of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities (UNSM). "The proposal to tax property owners is regressive, in that it taxes indiscriminately in regard to income levels," Council stated.
HRM Council also outlined other key principles in the letter to the Province and the UNSM.
¨ A cap must be placed on equalization transfers. No government should be expected to sign a blank cheque for spending in another jurisdiction.
¨ A time limit should be placed on any interim Municipal Equalization program. The program should be re-assessed in light of the Province's improving fiscal situation and the government's forecast of a budget surplus next year.
¨ The interim agreement should be replaced by a new governance model with legislation enacted before the agreement ends.
The Province announced earlier this month that it will work on establishing a new Municipal Equalization Formula through consultations with the UNSM.
However, Council says a parallel negotiation should continue at the same time with HRM. "As the municipality most affected by the equalization issue, HRM insists that its views must be respected," Mayor Kelly concluded.
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Mayor Peter Kelly
(902) 490-4010
