WHAT THE PROVINCE GIVETH, CITY HALL TAKETH AWAY
by Shawn Venasse (Sales Representative - The Elli Davis Team)
or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the LAND TRANSFER TAX increase...
An interactive exploration of the CITY OF TORONTO's outrageous and unfairattempt to increase the much despised LAND TRANSFER TAX during a city-wide housing crisis and an uncertain economic future!
Back in the late Fall of 2016, the Ontario Government came out with some exciting new legislation geared toward assisting First Time Home Buyers in the Province among other initiatives. All of these plans & proposals were outlined in their 220-page document called BUILDING ONTARIO UP FOR EVERYONE: The 2016 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review which Finance Minister Charles Sousa presented live at a press conference held that same day at Queen's Park.
" Ontario will help more people purchase their first home through a proposal to double the maximum Land Transfer Tax refund for eligible first-time homebuyers to $4,000. "
...The proposed increase is detailed in the 2016 Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review presented today by Finance Minister Charles Sousa. The increase would be effective January 1, 2017 and mean that eligible home buyers in Ontario would pay no Land Transfer Tax on the first $368,000 of the cost of their first home." - 14 November 2016
Bv Week Two of January 2017, no sooner had one level of Government reminded the Citizenry of their recent largesse:
...when another level of Government continued along it's already ill-chosen path to take it all back and then some. On 17 November 2016, merely three (3) days after the Minister of Finance announced his Government's plan to double LTT Rebates for first time home buyers, the City of Toronto released the following document to Staff:
STAFF REPORT - ACTION REQUIRED: The City of Toronto’s Immediate and Longer-term Revenue Strategy Direction (Number: P:\2016\Internal Services\Cf\Ec16025Cf (TFS #23952)) - November 17, 2016
This document outlined a shortfall for funding for the CITY OF TORONTO 2017 BUDGET. An obviously dire situation that called for all possible solutions. Interestingly, in the very charged climate of 2016, where the public discourse had been all about HOUSING, almost everyday. And specifically about:
" Affordability in Toronto has eroded to the worst level in a quarter century , and housing is now less affordable for middle-income earners in Toronto than it is in New York ." Huffington Post Posted: 05/12/2016 3:10 pm EDT Updated: 05/12/2016 8:59 pm EDT (Capital Economics’ senior Canada economist,David Madani)
and...
- AVAILABILITY:
and...
“Price growth accelerated throughout 2016 as the supply of listings remained very constrained. Active listings at the end of December were at their lowest point in a decade-and-a-half. Total new listings for 2016 were down by almost four per cent.” saidJason Mercer, TREB’s Director of Market Analysis.
NOTE: For more info on the above-named housing issues and others, check-out these sites:
Developers sitting on land in Toronto’s heated housing market in hopes prices will keep rising - Garry Marr | August 15, 2016 11:23 AM ET National Post (Photo: Tyler Anderson)
And with news headlines everywhere blasting out the message: TORONTO - A CITY IN A HOUSING CRISIS! Well my point is...given that THIS is the current state of affairs and public discussion, is it a smart idea for any level of Government to be openly and actively discussing an increase to the taxation of home buyers? NO! It's not. And I'm not the only one who thinks this!
However, according to the CITY OF TORONTO, that was an emphatic: YES! But according to the TORONTO REAL ESTATE BOARD as well as "59% Of Torontonians" (The Toronto Star), the answer is a loud & clear: NO! As in "I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!"
Or more precisely, NO MORE TAXES ON HOUSING!!! And maybe while we are at it, we can ask the City for a thorough review of where exactly all of the money (something likely in the neighbourhood of $1,500,000,000 to $2,000,000,000) collected from the LTT has gone since it began in 2008.
" Since it was implemented in early 2008, the LTT has been a solid revenue generator for the City of Toronto. Total revenues have risen continually from about $170 million in 2010 to $432 million in 2014.16" - Ryerson University's Centre for Urban Research and Land Development Report - March 2015
Well it seems we are at an impasse, since the City of Toronto already passed the legislation on 13th December 2016 thereby approving the increases to LTT:
(See 1:20:24 for the commencement of the Council's review of the proposed legislation and it's subsequent approval thereby passing it into law.)
As a result, the new tax and associated administrative fees are set to kick-in shortly:
So it might be understandable if this kind of feels like a fait accompli? Well whether it does or not, it is not! As Citizens we have a voice and when raised in protest it can truly make things happen. That is why TREB launched the #ANOTHEROBSTACLE campaign:
There is still time for US to tell City Hall what's what...but not without your participation. PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!Share this article. Or my PSA Video:
And of course, please read & review TREB's anotherobstacle.ca website and undertake the actions which are all set-up for you to execute with just a click! Then share all of this with everyone in your life who lives in or loves Toronto. It's time we stand-up and demand accountability and obedience. FIGHT BACK!