Mayors threaten to strike over plan to redistribute property taxes to poorer towns

Municipal leaders are threatening a strike over the government’s plans to form a fund that would pool money from property taxes in well-to-do towns and transfer it to poorer areas.

The government plans to approve the establishment of such a fund as part of the new state budget. It would force local authorities to allocate a certain percentage of property taxes received from local businesses (10%-28% depending on various factors) to the fund, which would be used to encourage new construction in disadvantaged towns.

“This is an attempt to harm education, welfare, culture and our ability to provide municipal services to our residents,” the Federation of Local Authorities says in a statement. “It is not our responsibility to provide budgetary resources for national crises.”

The leaders say they will start a strike in local authorities starting tomorrow unless plans for the fund are nixed.