Council to study tax tools to fund LRT expansions

Council has taken a cautious step toward some sort of new taxation power in the future to pay for LRT expansions — the sort of study they’ve launched several times before, but have never been able to act on.

They approved a proposal to study an exhaustive list of 27 possible tax tools, everything from a greater personal income tax or utility surcharges, to a carbon tax and car rental levy. They’ll hear back next January on which among what the mayor called a “laundry list” makes sense, and then will likely have to seek approval from the province to actually raise or introduce those taxes.

AECOM, the same consultant group pushing Calgary along this road, also worked with the Torontoarea transit agency Metrolinx on similar options for tax tools. The Ontario government is considering a proposal to fund transit with a five- or 10-cent surtax on fuel, and AECOM sees the most promise in that here as well.

Council approved a bid to study that array of tax options in a 10-4 vote Friday. Mayor Naheed Nenshi said for a $5-billion LRT project from the northern tip of Harvest Hills Boulevard to the south hospital, finding budget efficiencies isn’t enough, but the city shouldn’t have to wait for grants from the province or Ottawa, either.

“We have to take control of our own destiny on this,” Nenshi said. The province has suggested it may give major cities new tax generation tools in new charters.

Coun. Sean Chu supported the study, but derisively compared fellow councillors to his own children, who once naively asked him to go to the bank when he stated has no money.

“You can talk about 27 ways to (raise) money. How are we going to save money?” Chu said. “But we never talk about that. Always spend, spend and then get more.”