Halifax small-business owners are calling for the region’s local government to go easier on its proposed commercial property-tax increase.

The average commercial property tax bill is slated to rise 9.7%, matching the residential hike, as the Halifax Regional Municipality grapples with a revenue shortfall of $68.7 million.

An increase of any size, particularly at the magnitude first proposed by city staff, will bring higher costs in the form of higher tax bills for those small businesses who own their property and higher occupancy costs for those who rent,” said Duncan Robertson, a Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said in a news release.

The CFIB represents small-and-medium-sized enterprises across the country. Robertson said most CFIB members in the region do not believe the hike is fair and want to ensure that is being used to pay for the budge shortfall.

CFIB members also want a clearer budge process, Robertson added.