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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| City "Sidewalk" Tax Idea Infuriates Bar & Club Owners |
| 2007-06-28 |
| They're taxing you depending on the amount of garbage you throw out. They're taxing you when you sell your house. They're taxing you when you register your car. But will they actually have the nerve to tax you just for standing on the sidewalk? City Hall may have another wallet wallop coming for bar and club owners, as it ponders charging to have customers wait outside on Toronto-owned sidewalks to get into establishments. Those behind the idea believe it will not only generate badly needed revenue but act as a kind of de facto crowd control and reduce the potential for violence downtown. But not everyone is in favour of yet another reason not to head into the core. "Taxing the sidewalk is just another insane thing the city can do," explodes Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong. "We'll tax not only anything that moves, we'll tax anything that doesn't move!" But the man behind the motion insists it's more about clash than cash. "This isn't a money grab," maintains Councillor Adam Vaughan. "This is about trying to get nightclubs to behave like good corporate citizens and to take responsibility for their customers when they use the public space to hold them." Not surprisingly club owners are also fuming about the idea."It's really, really annoying, to be very polite," an angry George Kioulmetis seethes. "Basically what you're doing is you're charging an extra tax in a specific district." The proposed bylaw would force club owners to get a permit to rent sidewalk space. There's still no word on exactly how much it would cost them. But while patrons won't pay for it, they're still sure it will wind up coming out of their pockets. "In the end the owners are going to feel the pinch and then the pinch is going to come on us," predicts Andrew Christoforou. So when will it all happen? Not for a while. The city will hold consultations for the next five months, followed by a council vote. That means the earliest the new tax could have 'standing' is by the end of next winter. |
| Posted by:Delphi |
| #2 "if you take a walk I'll tax your feet........." |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2007-06-28 13:41 |
| #1 "This isn't a money grab," maintains Councillor Adam Vaughan. ...and you can trust him because he's a politician. I'm sure it's for the children... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2007-06-28 10:01 |