RETRANSMISSION-All in a Day's Work: Smitherman Raises Business Taxes in the Morning, Flip Flops at Night

Smitherman announced a plan to increase the tax levy on Toronto's small businesses during a morning news conference at the Cabbagetown Youth Centre. The announcement was quickly criticized by the Toronto Board of Trade and the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA). TABIA's Executive Director referred to the tax "as a backwards step in terms of the progress that has been made in identifying the need to support small business." The Toronto Board of Trade called it "problematic".

Candidate Smitherman said a hike of $10 million a year in business taxes was a "minuscule amount" for business owners to pay.

At the Youth Priority Symposium debate at the University of Toronto, Rocco Rossi referred to the $10 million dollar tax as another example of how out of touch Mr. Smitherman is from the realities faced by small businesses in Toronto. "This is another reason we must look beyond career politicians to bring real change at City Hall."

Subsequent to the debate, Candidate Smitherman's campaign retracted the policy.

This is the second such policy retraction for George Smitherman. This past spring, George Smitherman back-tracked after the Globe and Mail called his transit plan "reckless and irresponsible", referring to a $7 billion price tag. Just days later, the price tag was reduced by close to 30%, to $5 billion.

"It's all in a day's work for a candidate like Mr. Smitherman," said Rossi, "You announce a policy in the morning, then you change your mind when your policy gets criticized, and then you reverse your policy at night. That's what career politicians do: they don't do their homework, and we pay the price. They move which ever way the wind is blowing."

Rossi, who has spent his career running successful businesses and a large non-profit organization, is running for Mayor on a platform of real change that will allow the people of Toronto to take back their City Hall from the career politicians. media@roccorossi.com