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September
2001 Newsletter
We
Say, You Pay
This
headline is apparently the current philosophy of the Hamilton
Chamber of Commerce. This business organization is one of
the most outspoken advocates of building the Red Hill Creek
Expressway. At the same time they are demanding lower taxes
for business. Not only that, they are getting lower taxes.
This year property taxes in Hamilton on commercial and industrial
properties dropped by more than 10%, while most residential
homeowners saw their taxes go up.
It
gets worse. New laws passed by the Harris government prohibit
ANY increases in the property taxes of either commercial
or industrial properties in Hamilton. The province says
these properties should be taxed at the same rate as private
homes instead of the current situation where business tax
rates are three to four times higher. This means that all
NEW municipal spending in Hamilton can only be paid for
out of increased taxes on homeowners (and farmers).
The
latest City budget documents state that taxpayers will have
to provide nearly $118 million for the expressway between
now and 2010. This is just for construction and interest
costs, and all those bills won't be paid until at least
2015, so this is just part of the cost. Operating and maintenance
costs, estimated by some councillors to be $20 million a
year, also need to be added to this bill. Each million dollars
in spending now costs the average homeowner $7.75.
This
means the expressway construction bill alone will cost the
average homeowner over $900 this decade ($118 million x
$7.75). The total cost, including maintenance, will likely
exceed $2000 per household by 2015.
So
the next time you hear the Chamber of Commerce or another
business lobby demanding an expressway or some other massive
local government expenditure, remember: They won't be paying
the bill; that goes to the homeowners.
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