Tough conversations: Taxpayer advocate says expected Winnipeg tax hike will be painful – Winnipeg [Video]

The City of Winnipeg is set to release its preliminary budget for 2025 on Wednesday, and one item expected to be in the document is causing some concern among taxpayer advocates.

Franco Terrazzano of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says a hike in property taxes — reportedly an increase of almost 6 per cent — is bad news for Winnipeggers who are already struggling to make ends meet.

“How many people in Winnipeg right now are having tough conversations with their spouse or their kids about having to cut back on Christmas?

“It’s time that we see all levels of government, including the city of Winnipeg, start to cut back.”

Terrazzano told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg that the proposed hike will not only put more financial stress on the average Winnipegger, but it also flies in the face of a promise mayor Scott Gillingham made during his election campaign.

“The mayor is breaking his own …