ST. JOHN’S, NL: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on St. John’s City Council to reject Mayor Danny Breen’s call for new municipal taxes to fund climate change projects.

“When the mayor talks about creating new revenue streams, what he really means is finding new ways to tax St. John’s residents who are already under the squeeze,” said Devin Drover, CTF Atlantic Director. “Families are dealing with rising costs for groceries, fuel and housing.

“The last thing they need is City Hall inventing new ways to take more.”

The mayor’s comments come despite the fact that St. John’s taxpayers have already been hit with significant tax increases over the past five years. The city’s residential mill rate has climbed by over 18 per cent over that period, while the water tax has increased by 13 per cent.

“City Hall has already been raising taxes and now the mayor is openly asking for even more ways to do it,” said Drover. “Taxpayers aren’t a blank cheque every time the city wants to launch a new initiative or cost-share a federal program.”

The CTF says municipalities should be focused first on finding savings within their existing budgets before asking higher levels of government for expanded taxation powers.

“Before the mayor talks about new taxes, he should be talking about rooting out waste, tightening spending and making sure every dollar already collected is being used wisely,” said Drover. “You don’t fix affordability problems by piling new taxes on the very people who are struggling to pay the old ones.”

The CTF is calling on council to reject any proposal that would increase the overall tax burden on residents and instead conduct a line-by-line review of city spending to identify efficiencies and savings.

“Taxpayers have done more than their share,” said Drover. “It’s city hall’s turn to do its.”