NEWS RELEASE

Regional Council Committee of the Whole discontinues tax reform process

(Tuesday, January 26, 2010) - Following a debate today, Halifax Regional Council’s Committee of the Whole voted 13 to 10 against a motion to continue to explore moving off the current assessment-based property tax system.

In late 2006, Council selected a group of citizens and councillors from across HRM to form a Tax Reform Committee to consult with the public and return with recommendations for an alternate municipal tax system.

The Committee proposed a Draft Tax Model in March 2008 - a service based tax that included low and middle income tax relief. Following a second set of consultations amendments were made to include the introduction of a surtax on high value homes and Council was presented with a revised model in June 2009.

In September 2009 Council dissolved the Tax Reform Committee and assumed its responsibilities. In June and September, Committee of the Whole debated a recommendation that originated with the Tax Reform Committee. Council suspended its debate on the motion and agreed to participate in tax information workshops, two full days of which were held in November 2009.

Links to the staff report and tax reform background information can be found at halifax.ca by following a link from the home page.

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Contact:

Mayor Peter Kelly
490-4010