Making the best of it:
Smarter taxation for HRM
Spend & Tax
Property taxes, municipal services, increasing costs, bigger potholes - all are part of the reality of today's urban centre. This paper examines taxation in the Halifax Regional Municipality and recommends how municipal taxation can be more efficient and accountable.
Time is now to weigh priorities
Ottawa Sun Columnist Walter Robinson recommends a recent AIMS Commentary by Patrick Luciani be mandatory reading for city councillors.
The Beacon, 12 December 2007
This edition of the Beacon explores issues ranging from urban development to the Atlantic Gateway to education.
Are big cities really saving the Canadian economy?
AIMS Senior Fellow in Urban Policy Patrick Luciani challenges the theory that municipal growth is driven by creative citizens.
The local government index
Are taxpayers getting a good return on the money they pay to their municipal governments? Are municipalities putting tax dollars toward infrastructure and services, or frittering it away on non-necessities while roads fall apart? Should we be demanding more from our local government?
The Beacon, 29 November 2007
This edition of the Beacon takes a look at the Atlantic fishery, private health care delivery and the benefits of Atlantica.
Saint John not the only city that may contemplate a break for property owners
With property values rising, so too does the tax collected by municipalities. In New Brunswick, some local governments are considering cutting the tax rate. AIMS Director of Research Ian Munro says such discussions are an indication that people understand how property taxes work.
City hall has control issues: councillors
When Halifax municipal councillors began muttering that perhaps the city had too much regulation, the Halifax Daily News turned to AIMS for comment. Acting president Charles Cirtwill says there is no doubt the city council is too quick to pass bylaws without considering enforcement, the cost or the need.
Merging Atlantic Canada a tax boon?
In this article from the Telegraph Journal AIMS acting President Charles Cirtwill explains why it is unlikely a single government for the Atlantic provinces would result in reduced spending.