It’s tough to believe that making it harder for families to buy homes will be the solution to city hall’s financial problems.

Yet, when stripped of the political spin, that’s the proposition Mayor Brian Bowman is trying to sell. He calls his initiative a “growth fee” to pay for city infrastructure. In reality, it would be a charge of more than $10,000 on a modest new 1,000-square-foot home and the money would go into the city’s coffers – that’s a tax.

Ironically, along with infrastructure maintenance and mass transit, Mayor Bowman cited the “need for support to create more affordable housing” as one of the most pressing issues in the last federal election.

The mayor seems to sincerely believe that nailing a $10,000 tax bill to a new home won’t have a significant impact on affordability.

“The new housing starts have continued when these fees are put in place,” said Mayor Bowman referring to other jurisdictions that have imposed taxes on new homes.

A new tax might not stop every hammer from swinging, but Qualico, a major developer, disagrees to the point it halted construction on one of its major projects. Mayor Bowman seems to think it’s a pressure tactic. Perhaps that’s part of it. But those in the industry point to basic economics.

“Construction will slow down,” said Mike Moore, president of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association.

The equation is simple. The best way to make housing more affordable is to build more houses. But every real estate agent knows that raising the price of a home reduces the number of potential buyers. Fewer buyers will mean builders will build fewer homes. Next time Mayor Bowman talks about affordable housing it will be hard for taxpayers to keep a straight face.

Logical inconsistency is not the only problem with a massive tax on new homes; the plan lacks credibility.

Mayor Bowman says people who buy new homes aren’t paying their fair share of infrastructure costs. Yet, for a new home that costs $444,675, the Manitoba Home Builders calculates the family who moves in is already paying $73,628 to cover infrastructure charges for roads; sewer and water lines; electrical lines; and, parks.

City hall has already strained family budgets by demanding more money from taxpayers. It’s increased “frontage fees” (an property tax hike by another name). It’s increased water rates and then siphoned more revenue from the utility into city hall coffers. And yet, the city still finds itself short so it’s hard to believe more money will solve the problem.

City hall spent $149,800 to have consultants rubber stamp the plan to tax new homes. Perhaps it could have spent the money to study opportunities to save money. There are numerous opportunities for savings. The police and fire services are dealing with significant overtime bills. There have been several unexplained six-digit payouts to departing city employees. If city hall insists on consistently squeezing family budgets to pay more tax, it needs to show it’s willing to do the same with his city budget.

Winnipeg taxpayers aren’t the only ones Mayor Bowman needs to convince; there’s also a good chance he’ll need provincial approval. The previous NDP government showed no interest in letting the city impose massive taxes on new homes. The new Progressive Conservative government is also opposed.

“I would have no plans to approach changes in legislation that would, as a consequence, increase the tax load of an already over-taxed population,” said Premier Brian Pallister.

It’s not that Premier Pallister is unsympathetic regarding budget challenges. He’s dealing with a deficit of $911-million. But he’s commissioned a government-wide audit to find savings and fix the province’s finances without raising taxes.

City hall needs to get its own financial house in order instead of imposing huge taxes on families buying a new home.