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st- tribune tuesday february 10 1998 p 19 regional news york businesses escape 30 per cent tax hike province lisa queen metroland staff businesses in york region have escaped a 30per cent tax increase now that the province has decided not to pool their education taxes according to markham mayor don cousens cousens credits an intense lobbying effort over the past two weeks for convincing the province to rethink a plan to pool business education taxes across the gta we were told by the province 1 guess youre not too worried about it torontos lob bying like made cousens said metro was so busy putting the boots to them we needed to show them quickly we were taking this seriously they were startled we hadnt woken up to the impact they rang our bell first and then said i guess you do care we did care and we were able to mount a campaign the icing on the cake was the decision by the 905 business community to join the politi cians efforts the payoff came thursday when finance- minister ernie eves announced he wont force businesses outside toronto to make up for the citys past mis takes toronto is asking us to make the rest of the province respon sible for the cumulative impact of decades of irresponsible spending decisions and ques tionable programs approved by successive toronto councils and school boards eves said over the past 50 years toron to politicians have kept residen tial taxes artificially low by boosting business taxes but when industries began relocating to the lowertaxed suburbs surrounding the city toronto politicians were left scrambling for a way to make up the lost taxes eves warned toronto to fix its own tax problems rather than looking for relief from beyond its borders toronto is asking us to make businesses and municipalities in the rest of the province pay the freight for the fact that toronto politicians raised spending year after year and took the easy way to loading taxes on to business es in addition to giving home owners a tax break toronto politicians have been criticized for offering highpriced ser vices such as free recreation programs and twiceaweek garbage pickup meanwhile york region resi dents face user fees higher taxes and limited services especially when it comes to education eves said all education taxes paid by businesses will be frozen he also announced the province will move toward a uniform education rate for busi nesses over the next few years as municipalities across the province address local tax dis crepancies toronto mayor mel lastman lashed out at the provinces decision this is an unprecedented attack on the city of toronto with the sole purpose of gaining votes in the 905 region during the next provincial election cousens doesnt argue the election is in the back of the governments minds or that this decision will help them garner support in the suburbs but he insists the province was motivated more by fairness than campaigning 1 wish people would stop saying its because of the elec tion we made the point it would be inequitable and unfair for us to pay for torontos edu cation costs he said they have junior kinder garten we dont we have far more kids in portables than they do they have a better pupil- teacher ratio than we do and they want us to put money in their coffers cousens credited suburban mpps with helping convince the government to backtrack commitment to catholic schooling the new year will bring a new set of challenges as separate school trustees are called upon to take the board into the new millennium according to york catholic district school board chairperson tina rotondi molinari as trustees the election allowed us to recommit to catholic education molinari explained at a recent board meeting we share not only a common com mitment to catholic education but a commitment to our constituents to pro vide the best catholic education in a costeffective way molinari said recent constitutional changes affecting catholic education in quebec and newfoundland have set a dangerous precedent of minority educa tional rights- however both molinari and educa tion director susan larosa commend ed teachers and staff members for mak ing the board a leader in catholic edu cation we are in a time of change of transition and promise said larosa the partners in education the bish op pastors trustees parents educators and staff are all committed to living their faith w town of whitchurchstouffviile request for proposals provision of whitchurchstouffville mobility transit i the board of directors of whitchurchstouffville mobility transit invite proposals for the provisions of a contracted accessible taxi service for residents eligible for mobility transit proposals will be received by the board of directors co mrs michele kennedy town clerk town of whitchurch- stouffville 19civic avenue box 419 stouffville ontario l4a 7z6 until 300 pm february 26 1998 proposal forms are available at the clerks department in the municipal offices margaret britton president whitchurchstouffville mobility transit tiutfwifcm impzfoe tfom x r jhv- rr mft serves w- eight- 9zcm now jot amtimj 2ai 5534 main street stouffville i hwy 47 uxbridge 6426680 8526680 w alw town of whitchurch stouffville information regarding your 1998 property taxes the province is introducing a new method of assessing property called current value assessment or cva the reassessed value of property will now represent the estimated market value of the property as of june 30 1996 the new property tax system was introduced throughout ontario on january 1 1998 the province will be notifying property owners of their new assessed values this month february the province will deliver the new assessment information to the town at the end of april 1998 this new assessment value will be the one used to determine your 1 998 final tax bill which will be mailed in june of this year the 1998 interim residential tax bill is approximately 50 of your 1997 total property tax bill the town will need to know the new assessed value of each property adopt a 1998 budget and set new tax policies before it can determine the final 1998 property taxes for the commercial property owners normally the interim property taxes would be approximately 50 of the previous years total taxes however since the business occupancy tax has been eliminated for the 1998 interim taxes the provinces legislation enables municipalities to raise up to 50 of the total 1997 business commercial and industrial property taxes as a result the 1998 interim tax bill will include the amount of the business tax the 1998 interim taxes are only an estimate and represent a deposit toward the total 1998 taxes it is important that the assessment office is notified as soon as possible of any vacancies within a commercial unit so that this can be reflected on the notice of assessment after the notices are mailed there is still the opportunity to have the assessment adjusted through the province and the individual will receive an amended notice after the assessment roll has been produced the individual may still make application to the town for this adjustment since business occupancy tax has been eliminated business tenants will no longer be directly responsible for paying this tax however in 1998 an amount equivalent to the business tax will be incorporated into the property taxes paid by the property owner therefore the landlord of the commercial properties may increase the rent charged to the tenants to compensate the increase in the 1998 taxes the assessment department has scheduled open house sessions to be held march 9th to 11th from 1200 pm to 800 pm at the ballantrae community centre 5592 aurora road ballantrae so that the property owner has an opportunity to present new information or correct misunderstandings regarding the assessment any questions regarding assessments should be directed to regional assessment office at 18002633224 ruth armstrong amct cmtc tax collector