It appeared to the Council that it was clearly in the interest of ratepayers that they should be invited to start paying the bill at duce rather' than have to face higher taxation' by delaying facing the situation until the Annual Meeting of Ratepayers in April, according to the communique. 'A further 20 million dollars has {0 be found,-and the major portion of this sum must necessarily come from General Municipal Rate and Land) Tax. A one per cent. rate, together with the correlative Land Tax, is estimated to produce $1,400,000. Ratepayers are at present in effect paying a 27 per cent. rate, and the 40 per cent. surcharge recommended by the Council should bring in $15, 120,000.
There has been sitting for some time past a Sub-Committee of, the] Municipal Economy Committee deal ing with sources of revenue. This Sub-Committee has not yet submitted its complete recommendations; a num~ ber of them have, however, been adopted by the Council, and one od-vantage of calling a Special Meeting of Ratepayers now is to enable immediate advantage to be taken of] the majority of the recommendations of this Sub-Committee in regard to Licence Fees. The increased Licence Fees which ratepayers are to be re~ commended to adopt are estimated to: produce during 1941 $3,500,000 more than the sum received from these sources In 1940, This gives towards the 20 million dollar deficit a total sum. of $16,600,000. It is Hoped to raise the balance result of the increased assessments on owner-oc~ cupied properties recommended by Re-assessment Committee of experts that hes been sitting for the past few months and is still sitting. In addttion, further recommendations of the [Sources of Revenue Sub-Committee
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