The City of Calgary is looking at cutting back its approved tax hike
Only months after approving a 7.8% tax hike for property owners, Calgary City Council is now considering reducing that rate after hearing from residents about how the increase would impact them.
On Tuesday, some councillors tabled a motion that proposes $23 million in cuts, and it will be before council during a meeting on January 30.
“We need policies that support economic growth and prosperity for all Calgarians,” Jane Martin, a Calgarian who started a petition to cut the tax.
“Not ones that place an undue burden on residents already grappling with high costs.”
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Before the meeting where the hike was passed in November, council held a public hearing where residents spoke both for and against the increase.
Some Calgarians advocated for it, saying that the money collected from the taxes would help those struggling with affordability.
Others, both residents and councillors, disagreed with the number, including Ward One Councillor Sonya Sharp, who introduced amendments to the motion.
The motion to raise tax rates by a total of 7.8% eventually passed in a 9-6 vote.
The money from the tax hike is intended to be used for a number of items, including the following:
- Calgary’s new housing strategy, with $90 million in capital funding, $27 million in annual ongoing funding, and $54.5 million in 2024 one-time funding.
- Transit and community safety, with $15 million in annual ongoing funding and $2 million in 2024 one-time funding.
- Calgary’s mental health and addictions strategy, with $6 million in ongoing funding.
It has not been made clear where the cuts would come if the motion to roll back taxes passes.
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