Ontario eyes municipal land transfer tax

The Liberal government isn't ruling out giving all Ontario municipalities optional power to impose a land transfer tax.

Thestar.com
Oct. 27, 2015
By Richard J. Brennan

The Liberal government is not ruling out giving all Ontario municipalities the option to impose a local land transfer tax like the one Toronto already has, adding several thousand dollars to the cost of a home.

“I am not ruling anything out, absolutely not,” Municipal Affairs Minister Ted McMeekin told the Star on Tuesday.

That municipal tax would be over and above the provincial land transfer tax.

McMeekin said everything is on the table as cash-starved municipalities cast about for ways to raise money as part of consultations being held regarding proposed changes to the Ontario Municipal Act.

“They are not specifically asking for any new tools (for raising money), it’s always very generic.

Questions arise as to why Toronto has certain revenue tools the rest of us don’t have,” McMeekin said.

“I have said whatever revenue tools may ... be granted, would only be done so on an optional basis ... but we have made no decision on that at this point,” he said.

The purchaser of a Toronto home selling for $450,000 will pay a total of $10,200 in land transfer tax - $5,475 to the province and $4,725 to city.

The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) is encouraging the government to think long and hard before giving municipalities additional taxing powers when it comes to home sales.

“Ontario home buyers are already charged a provincial land transfer tax, so by adding a municipal tax, they're essentially doubling the tax burden on Ontario families,” Patricia Verge, president of OREA, said in a statement.

“If the Ontario Liberals follow through with this plan, home buyers will be forced to pay $10,000 in total land transfer taxes on the average priced home in Ontario, starting as early as next year.”

Tory MPP Steve Clark urged the government in the legislature during question period not to put the cost of a home even further out of the hands of many, especially young people.

“The spread of the Municipal Land Transfer Tax would make Ontario the most uncompetitive tax jurisdiction in North America when it comes to buying a home,” Clark said, further claiming the move would cost the province up to $2.3 billion in lost economic activity and 15,000 jobs.

Pat Vanini, executive director of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) said AMO thinks that Ontario’s municipalities should have the same options that Toronto has had since 2006.

“It’s logical that municipal governments across Ontario should have a consistent set of tools. Municipalities ought to be able to work with their community members as to what, if anything, makes sense in their local context,” she said in a statement.

McMeekin said he hopes to introduce changes to the Municipal Act in the 2016 spring session of the legislature.

“We’re reviewing the fiscal structure that the province has vis-a-vis municipalities that could involve some changes. I would be speculating as to what those changes might be ... (but) I can definitively say that we have not made any decisions. We are continuing our consultations,” he said.