A businessman has urged fellow property owners in the City of Hamilton to withhold their taxes from City Hall in protest at no longer having a vote.Bill Boyle told a Corporation of Hamilton town hall meeting on Tuesday that it was a “real utter disgrace” that only City residents would get to vote in the municipal election in May, under legislation passed in 2010.“It’s not fair representation at all,” said Mr Boyle. “Those who pay 95 percent of taxes are not going to have a vote.“Therefore maybe we should think about withholding our money. It’s taxation without representation.“I recommend that we all get together and withhold taxes.”Mayor Charles Gosling told him: “It’s a shame you weren’t vocal a year-and-a-half ago when this was discussed.”Mr Gosling pointed out that the Corporation and members of the public marched on Parliament in protest at the Municipalities Reform Act, but it passed anyway.“That for me right now is in the past,” said the Mayor. “We were not able to get the broad consensus with Government.”The Act took away the right of property and business owners to vote in city elections and extended the franchise to all city residents on the parliamentary register.Mr Gosling said the 650 or so residents who would be able to vote represented about two percent of those paying tax in the capital.Mr Boyle complained that the Chamber of Commerce had done very little to oppose the change in the law, but the Chamber’s former executive director Diane Gordon denied that was the case.She said: “In this particular case, the Chamber was very vocal.”Ms Gordon said it was unfortunate that voting rights for property and business owners had been removed but added: “It’s not going to go back.”The Mayor told the meeting at Hamilton Seventh-day Adventist Church that the municipal election in the first week of May would be the “major event” this year for City Hall.He explained that anyone on the parliamentary register in Bermuda could stand as Mayor, Alderman or Common Councillor as long as their name was put forward by a city resident. The exceptions are Senators, MPs and members of the Corporation of St George.He said there could be ten candidates, with each requiring two nominees.The Mayor told the audience of about 70 people: “Residents, you have a great power, not only at the voting time but also in the nominating process.“Know what your candidate stands for. Don’t nominate someone only to find out they stand for something else. This is a great responsibility.”Useful websites: www.cityhall.bm, www.gov.bm.