Dylan Reid at Spacing Wire:
So, effectively, the City is proposing to cut property taxes by the rate of inflation (probably about 1.8%). The strange thing is, Rob Ford is certainly aware that property taxes need to be raised every year just to keep real municipal revenue steady — when George Smitherman promised a one-year property tax freeze during the election, Ford replied that it was a bad idea and that the City should raise property taxes by the rate of inflation to maintain its revenue. Why he suddenly proposed a tax freeze after becoming Mayor when he hadn’t even promised one in the campaign remains a mystery. Possibly once he was Mayor he became informed of the full size of the surplus left by the previous administration’s budgeting and decided to use it to budget more aggressively.
via Property tax “freeze†= tax cut « Spacing Toronto.
Ford’s pledge to freeze property taxes this year reportedly surprised even his own budget chief Mike Del Grande. It’s a reckless decision. Worst of all, he had a mandate not to freeze property taxes. He campaigned on it.  So why?
Tags: budget