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Others in the audience were interested in a tax deferral pro- posal for seniors, manyof whom live on fixed incomes and cannot afford the most recent MVA increases. Committee member Janet Hamilton said she sympathized and agreed that in an ideal situa- tion education taxes should stop at age 65. As the population ages, however, there is a danger of the entire systeni collapsing if people stopped paying. In an effort to side-step disas- ter, Johnstone explained that the local education component on the property tax 'base should be reduced. The province should then increase grant funding financed by an ’incOme surtax. This, he maintains, will help shift the emphasis onto people’s abili- ty to pay. Why, said one woman, should she still be paying for schools when it is now her great grand- children whozare attending them? The home, she said, is central to seniors’ lives and to lose some- thing they have lived in and paid for all their lives is wrong. The resulting report is exlremely complex yet audience members - most of whom were near or past retirement age - had obviously taken pains to acquaint themselves with its findings. Two items were of particular intereSt to them, namely education taxes and tax deferrals for seniors. Having established that, Johnstone said the Committee concentrated its efforts on mat- ters relating to local government revenues - with. an eye to the future and ‘ Unit 'Value Assessment. (This would treat properties of similar size the same region-wide.) Committee member David Johnstone agreed early on that taxation in any form is not the complete answer anddrew the crowd’s attention to a statement on Page One of the report. In part this said, “ thebest antidote to high property taxes is reduced spending by all levels of govem- ment and school boards.” , (Continued from page 1) value system which is set to be implemented Jan. 1, 1994. Its membership - while including four non-voting area politicians - was drawn largely from citizens in Halton’s four municipalities. Perhaps more than anything it was this fact which prompted the co-operative spirit seen Wednesday. Seniors balk at paying education taxes HR "BLOCK" l Inueaseyourtaxlanwlege I obta'nanewskill I convenient times and locations For More Illu'maflnn Call: (418) 081-8000 Ext. 102 BURLNG'ION, MILTON SFAR’HNG SEPT. 151% The program would allow seniors to remain in their homes by having back taxes (and inter- est) repaid to the municipality from their estate or when the property is sold. Hamilton said those who qual- ify must “demonstrate a need” because in the meantime other taxpayers would pick up the slack. . Federation of Oakville m ' ‘ sun-.533 Committee member Tom McCormack said that since 75% of education-related expenditures are mandated by the province anyway, the move would in fact place responsibility exactly Residents _ Groups (FORG) spokesman Ian Croskell won- dered whether transferring educa- tion from property tax to income tax would allow accountability to slip away. I531 all}! 3} 3’ #3- ii iti‘ifimfip‘iéél ii 5‘ 5 MW! If Regional Council accepts the Committee’s report (two- thirds- must vote in favor of the recommendations in order to establish them) the base assess- ment year of 1988 would be changed to 1992. This would be good news for Oakville residents who saw property values escalate in the Eighties more than other areas in the region. where it belongs. The remaining three munici- 5- palities’ taxes would drop: Burlington, -0 72%; Milton, - 4. 31%; Halton Hills, -5. 85%. Them Committee' 1s also recommendingm 1?. that the tax shift between munici- palities be limited to 2% annual-N L. ly. ‘0 (n s‘Aepuns In the meantime, Oakville’ share of taxes under a revise d apportionment system would increase by 3.32%. uaxeaM Jam IQR‘IQQVJ