A report released by city officials overseeing the so-called “tax reform” proposal could not have been better designed to inflame urban vs. suburban strife. The one-page document, which was handed out at a Tuesday workshop for councillors, shows the effects of “tax reform” by electoral district averages. For example, using 2007 numbers, under “tax reform” […]
tax reform
Posted inNews + Opinion
Wanted: people who own their own home
For a story I’m working on concerning tax reform, I’m looking for a handful of moderate-income people who own their own home, with the house valued at less than $180,000, and who would agree to an analysis of how the tax reform proposal would affect their property taxes. The ideal candidates would be professionals or […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council’s secret “public meeting” on tax reform
Today, Halifax council met for a “workshop” on so-called “tax reform,” a proposal to jettison the time-honoured system of assessment-based property taxes and replace it with a fee-for-services system. When the workshop was discussed by council last month, assurances were given that it would be open to the public. And it was, nominally. Only problem […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Council notes: “tax reform” dead in the water
[Note: Tuesday’s 10-hour council meeting covered a lot of ground. I wrote about much of it, here and here, but should probably add a few notes. This post is about the tax reform issue; I’ll follow it up with a post further exploring the sewage issue.] “Tax reform” Council spent fully two hours debating whether […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tax Reform information available
Tim Bousquet’s recent editorial on Tax Reform (“Taxing problems,” August 13) uses strong language but is short on substance and facts. Regional council appointed seven citizens and six councillors from across the region to review the “foundations” of the property tax system and to conduct public consultations. Its meetings are public and extensive information is […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tax reform — the economists speak
In today’s editorial, I condemn the effort to change Halifax’s taxation system from a assessment-based property tax to a fee-for-service based system. I quote three economists in the editorial, but for space reasons I was unable to provide supporting documentation that two of the economists had given me. I’ll do so here. First, Lars Osberg […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tuesday’s HRM council meeting recap
Framing City staff has evidently embarked on a new strategy of controlling the contours of debate and press coverage: Don’t give councillors documents to discuss until the very moment an issue comes before them, and don’t give reporters the documents until after council discusses them. That way, no one can study the documents in advance […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tax reform news
The misguided effort to shift the tax burden away from wealthy property owners and onto those of more modest means, which has been given the Orwellian label “tax reform,” took centre stage at Tuesday’s council meeting as Councillor Russell Walker asked council to rescind its December vote for funding new transit services. As I reported […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Andrea Hilchie-Pye
Email: andrea@hilchiepye.comWebsite: andrea4thepeople.comTelephone: 431-3929 About Andrea acquired her political acumen in the Texas Legislature, as an aide to Democrat Bob Glaze. She grew up in and around the peninsula, attending Tower Road, Gorsebrook and Queen Elizabeth high school. Since moving back to Halifax, she has been politically active women’s leadership issue, participating in several campaigns […]