Mayoral candidate Giorgio Mammoliti signed a pledge to reduce residential and commercial property taxes across the board by five per cent if he is elected to Toronto’s top job in October.

Billing himself as the lone mayoral candidate “outrageously in touch” with the average taxpayer, Mammoliti told a partisan crown of seniors at North York’s Columbus Centre Tuesday, May 18, he is the only candidate addressing the meaty issues facing the city.

“We’re here at the Columbus Centre to talk about what this election should be about and it isn’t bike lanes,” said Mammoliti, criticizing his opponents for dwelling on insignificant issues while he devotes his campaign to weightier matters such as city finances, property taxes and gangs.

He promised elderly homeowners could look forward to no longer paying property taxes, although he later clarified to The Mirror that he meant elderly homeowners with annual household incomes of less than $65,000.

Mammoliti said he has taken to heart criticism that he has so far failed to provide numbers for his promises. He said his five per cent property tax cut would cost the city $135.3 million.

Meanwhile, cancelling property taxes for seniors with household incomes of less than $65,000 a year would cost $207.4 million for a total of $342.7 million.

But on the revenue side, he said changing the way the city delivers services would save $321.9 million; boosting the small amount boat clubs pay to lease land from the city to reasonable levels would bring in $3.8 million; building a casino would add $256 million to the city coffers; introducing a city lottery would bring in $60 million; and increasing the densities of downtown buildings would add anther $65 million to city revenues.

That adds up to $475 million, meaning the city would be $133 million ahead under his leadership, he said.

Tags: Mayor's race
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