20/20, a clear vision for Winnipeg : Clear vision for Winnipeg : 2010 alternative municipal budget

More than half of the are upfront about our Those values include: tax increases, whereas $30 million increase • A commitment to community the City raises taxes by in revenue in the increasing lower-pro- City’s budget comes • The belief that growing economic file taxes like the front- from increases to the inequality is unacceptable age levy and natural natural gas tax, • The understanding that mod [...] However, the bottom half of the to a couple of capital budget expenditures (in table adjusts all the amounts for inflation and the Transit and Community Services sec- we see that in real terms, the increase was much tions). [...] The result The other big change in the budget is the in- of decreasing the tax rate can be seen in Table crease in the sales of goods and services. [...] The policies reverse measures that have eroded the City’s There could well be an argument for eliminat- revenue position, address the problem of the ing the business tax in name, but there is clearly lack of growth inherent in property taxes, and no sense in reducing the total amount of tax that discourage urban sprawl. [...] Capital Region The growth of areas outside the boundaries of The following table reveals that Winnipeg’s resi- the City of Winnipeg, but within commuting dential property taxes as a percent of total taxes distance, is a problem for the City for a number is in the middle when compared to other West- of reasons.