Toronto Mayor David Miller has changed his strategy and is now pushing for city council to reopen debate over his plan for new taxes to address the city's budget deficit.

Miller wants an immediate vote on two controversial new taxes.

Earlier this summer, council deferred, by one vote, Miller's plan to introduce a new land transfer tax and a new vehicle registration fee, putting it off until late October. 

The measures, according to Miller, would have raised about $350 million.

Instead Miller brought in a number of service cuts, including closing community centres on Mondays and reducing library hours, as a means of achieving a balanced budget. But on Thursday Miller said that if council will agree to reopen the discussion about the new taxes the city might be able to reduce the number of cuts.

It's unlikely the city will cancel the service cuts, according to the mayor, but if council will revisit the issue before the end of September it's likely the severity of the cuts can be minimized.

"I know that no new tax is ever popular. But expecting homeowners and businesses to bear the burden of double digit property tax hikes is unfair. Seniors on fixed incomes and small businesses would be devastated. A sales tax on the purchase of property, with rebates for first-time buyers, is far more reasonable than property tax increases of 18 per cent for residents and six per cent for businesses. Our proposal is a fair tax plan for Toronto," said Miller in a news release. 

On Wednesday the Toronto Transit Commission accepted a recommendation for a 15-cent fare increase. The TTC is faced with a $130-million budget shortfall because of the city's overall financial squeeze. Miller said at Thursday's news conference that the fare increase will stand whether or not council votes to accept implementation of the new taxes. 

On Thursday Miller launched a new website and e-mail campaign aimed at pressuring city councillors to approve the new taxes. "It's time for the council to act," said Miller.