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Bell: Farkas fightin' mad over Danielle Smith's tax gouge of Calgarians

Farkas vs. Danielle Smith. Farkas says Smith and her big history-making tax hike on Calgarians must be opposed big-time

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Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas is as mad as hell and he’s not going to take this anymore.

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He’s really mad. Vein-popping mad.

Bell: Farkas fightin' mad over Danielle Smith's tax gouge of Calgarians Back to video

The tax hike from the government of Premier Danielle Smith is big and to say Farkas is upset is putting it mildly.

You see, when you get your property tax bill, Calgary city hall increases your taxes and the Smith government increases your taxes.

It’s one tax bill with the city and the province both getting their cut.

This year, city hall is hiking the taxes on a typical single-family home by $49.

The Smith government is hiking the property taxes on that same type of home by $338. That’s a tax increase of more then 20 per cent.

And city hall has to go out and collect that tax grab for Smith and her government.

“Imagine if Justin Trudeau ordered Danielle Smith to collect a big federal tax increase through the Alberta tax bill.

“She’d be furious. She’d explode.”

Farkas wants the province to allow the city of Calgary to send out two bills, one with the city tax hike and one with Smith’s tax hike, so city taxpayers could see clearly the province’s tax gouge.

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The mayor says the province won’t allow two bills. Not yet.

“To see a huge provincial tax increase go through the back door, the province knows full well Calgarians are going to shoot the messenger. The province is showing jerk all to show transparency.”

Property tax increase finalized at 8.1 per cent for Calgary homeowners

Bell: Jeromy Farkas battles Danielle Smith in epic tax hike fight

Farkas says the Smith government is not happy he is calling them out and they are not happy he is reminding folks Smith promised no tax hikes, period.

“The province is jamming through the biggest property tax in Calgary’s history.”

The mayor points out if city council didn’t vote to pass on the province’s tax increase, “we could be put in jail, we could be dismissed from office.”

Farkas has a message for supporters of Smith’s UCP.

“If UCP supporters are going to say it is Danielle Smith’s job to stick it to Ottawa and hold the federal government accountable, they should be lining up in droves to support our city council team for holding the provincial government accountable.”

Farkas also can’t stomach the province slamming Calgarians with a way bigger tax grab than Edmonton.

He makes an appeal to the premier.

If Smith is going to go back on her promise of no tax hikes, show what Calgary is getting out of it, show Calgarians the benefit.

Another option for Smith.

“Explain why Calgarians should get more than twice the hit that Edmonton is getting. If you’re going to increase taxes on everybody, make it fair. Give Calgarians the same level of increase as Edmonton and I’ll be off your back,” says Farkas.

“If you’re not going to give us more, don’t tax us more than anybody else. I’m trying to be reasonable here.”

Farkas says city council kept their tax increase low but … and here the mayor says it again … the lion’s share of the bigger tax bill is because of Smith and her government.

“She needs to stand by it. She needs to explain herself,” he says.

The Calgary mayor adds another irritant.

If oil prices stay high, money will be flowing like a gusher into the Alberta government bank account and, with Calgarians being hit hard on taxes, it is “really going to piss people off.”

If oil prices stay high and the barrels of cash do flow into the Alberta government bank account, Farkas says he will there demanding Calgary’s rightful piece of the bigger pie.

The Calgary mayor points to comments made by Smith a few years back.

“If we’re going to rail against equalization at the federal level, we can’t do the same thing to our municipalities,” Smith said at the time.

Smith then talks about the amount of money taken out of Calgary in property taxes by the Alberta government versus what gets transferred back to the city in municipal grants.

“Are we going to actually finally develop a fair deal for cities?” she asks.

Farkas has the final word, for now.

Listening to the mayor it would come as no surprise if Farkas decides to turn up the political thermostat.

“Take Calgary for granted at your own peril,” warns Farkas.

Your move, Premier Smith.

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