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With the huge shortfall in the municipal budget, Chow and the council were contemplating a bunch of things including a municipal sales tax.
I have NEVER heard of a city sales tax.
How will that even work? Wouldn't that drive buyers out of the city and hurt local businesses?
Part of her platform was to raise property taxes... wow, that's the 1st time I've ever heard of a politician promising to raise taxes if elected.
Personally I think that the property taxes (and other municipal charges) have gone up far enough. To promise to raise property taxes even more so than the annual raises is dubious in my view.
Anyways, I'm wondering if anybody lives where there is a municipal sales tax and if it hurt the local businesses?
With the huge shortfall in the municipal budget, Chow and the council were contemplating a bunch of things including a municipal sales tax.
I have NEVER heard of a city sales tax.
How will that even work? Wouldn't that drive buyers out of the city and hurt local businesses?
Part of her platform was to raise property taxes... wow, that's the 1st time I've ever heard of a politician promising to raise taxes if elected.
Personally I think that the property taxes (and other municipal charges) have gone up far enough. To promise to raise property taxes even more so than the annual raises is dubious in my view.
Anyways, I'm wondering if anybody lives where there is a municipal sales tax and if it hurt the local businesses?
Some places in the US charge local or municipal sales taxes so it is not unheard of. Alaska for instance has no state sales tax but local sales taxes. Other states such as New York and Ohio tack on an additional local surtax on top of a base sales tax and those surtaxes vary by location. If the US can do it, I cannot see why Canada cannot unless there's something in the Charter that prohibits it. Yes, local taxes and surtaxes do have the ability to hurt the local economy if not implemented right so Toronto has to move wisely.
She must get the province to allow the city to do that. Currently, cities etc in Canada do not have that power, and what I've read, says that is what she is gong to do, ask the province.
Some places in the US charge local or municipal sales taxes so it is not unheard of. Alaska for instance has no state sales tax but local sales taxes. Other states such as New York and Ohio tack on an additional local surtax on top of a base sales tax and those surtaxes vary by location. If the US can do it, I cannot see why Canada cannot unless there's something in the Charter that prohibits it. Yes, local taxes and surtaxes do have the ability to hurt the local economy if not implemented right so Toronto has to move wisely.
There is already a federal sales tax in Canada, so combine the total with provincial its already high enough.
@Urban Peasant: Interesting that certain American cities have it. I just find it a bit hard to accept if you have a business on the border of the city.
@Natnasci: Ford declined Chow and disallowed it. I'm not a big fan of Ford, but in this case he did the right thing.
@Lancerman: 100% correct. I remember when it was just 8% (Provincial) sales tax... then the dreaded HST (Federal) - making it a whopping 13%. If Chow thinks that we will stand for another amount making it close to 20% that we have to pay, she is dreaming.
What people don't understand is that we are already paying an additional 13% on so many things. They talk about people barely getting by... well this sales tax doesn't help.
I'd like to know how much money the Provincial and Federal government is reaping for ALL THE SALES that occurs in the city of Toronto... maybe we should get some of that back to keep the city functioning?
My stance is that there is a huge net outflow of taxes from the city into the Federal and Provincial coffers. Let's get some of that back specifically to make sure that the city doesn't implode.
@Urban Peasant: Interesting that certain American cities have it. I just find it a bit hard to accept if you have a business on the border of the city.
@Natnasci: Ford declined Chow and disallowed it. I'm not a big fan of Ford, but in this case he did the right thing.
@Lancerman: 100% correct. I remember when it was just 8% (Provincial) sales tax... then the dreaded HST (Federal) - making it a whopping 13%. If Chow thinks that we will stand for another amount making it close to 20% that we have to pay, she is dreaming.
What people don't understand is that we are already paying an additional 13% on so many things. They talk about people barely getting by... well this sales tax doesn't help.
I'd like to know how much money the Provincial and Federal government is reaping for ALL THE SALES that occurs in the city of Toronto... maybe we should get some of that back to keep the city functioning?
My stance is that there is a huge net outflow of taxes from the city into the Federal and Provincial coffers. Let's get some of that back specifically to make sure that the city doesn't implode.
One thing which I have suggested in the past that Toronto can give up is the TTC. It made sense in the past when the TTC did not extend beyond the city boundaries but that is no longer the case and with the PRESTO fare system, even more merging is happening. A transit system as big as the TTC is awfully expensive for a municipality to manage and hats off to Toronto for doing it for so long but times are changing. There is word that the City might have to hand over control of Lines 5 and 6 when they are finished to the Province because of financial difficulties. Why not simply make the entire TTC and the other transit agencies (ZUM, YRT, etc.) subsidiaries of Metrolinx? That can free up much needed municipal money for other important things and ward off an unnecessary municipal sales tax.
Municipal sales taxes are common in the US. They are not common in Canada.
For good reason. Under our constitution, only Canada and the provinces can raise sales taxes (Constituion s. 92 (16)). Municipalities can establish and raise property taxes, to pay for fire and police and sewers, and so on locally, but that's about it. They may not establish sales taxes under our constitution.
Seems to me that Chow ... naw, it's to easy to a ... naw, just naw. You folks who know me, know why I'm holding back.
@ Urban Peasant: Agreed. TTC is N America's biggest public transit not funded by the Province (State). The burden is huge on municipal finances. People don't understand that a good effective public transit is NECESSARY for any big metropolitan system. It is a public "good" that should be well funded by the government... our tax dollars. I agree to let the Province run TTC and fund it and stop with all the damn ticket price increases.
@ ChevySpoons: Yeah I certainly didn't want Chow to be elected. Tory messed up with his stupid sleeping around nonsense. Even though I'm not a big fan of his, at least he is more reliable when it comes to taxation, etc.
Anything to stop property taxes from going up too quickly. Homeowners in Toronto have had an easy ride for a long time with their property taxes. Everyone thinks their property taxes are too high until they see the stats and how low they are relative to many places. Homeowners are subsidized by developers and the anticompetitive development fees forced onto homebuyers. I don’t see the logic in that, “let’s charge a sales tax” that renters will also have to pay instead of addressing the elephant in the room that property taxes can and should be increased to cover these costs. It’s not the early 80s anymore, the services Torontonians expect come with a cost and homeowners with million+ net worths should not be the only ones getting a break.
Anything to stop property taxes from going up too quickly. Homeowners in Toronto have had an easy ride for a long time with their property taxes. Everyone thinks their property taxes are too high until they see the stats and how low they are relative to many places. Homeowners are subsidized by developers and the anticompetitive development fees forced onto homebuyers. I don’t see the logic in that, “let’s charge a sales tax” that renters will also have to pay instead of addressing the elephant in the room that property taxes can and should be increased to cover these costs. It’s not the early 80s anymore, the services Torontonians expect come with a cost and homeowners with million+ net worths should not be the only ones getting a break.
Spot on post.
100% correct that Toronto home owners have had an "easy ride" for a long time now with their lower than anywhere else in the GTA property taxes...in other words if living in the same market value home in ....pick any suburb....Markham....Oakville.....Whitby ...etc.........they would be paying higher property taxes....and as you mentioned, that is the ELEPHANT in the room....and interestingly ...it is not ever mentioned,
very hush, hush.... Olivia Chow won't dare mention it (as it would anger "many voters" and guarantee thatshe will lose the next election) ...so I get that.....but what I don't get, is the local media never brings it up either, .....but if Torontonians paid property taxes at the levels home owners pay in the rest of GTA .....that $1.5 billion "gap" would disappear and Chow wouldn't have think about implimenting an extra municipal "sales tax".....or going to Doug Ford, begging for deals....
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