There are many things that make the City of Toronto a great place to live: We have waterfront, a multicultural community, lots of great tourist attractions and the dining is phenomenal! There’s one thing that needs vast improvement though and that’s our land transfer tax. Did you know that Toronto is the only city in Canada that pays a provincial tax and a City tax for the honour of living in Toronto? The tax isn’t cheap either, just under 2% of the purchase price. So for the average taxpayer that means $15,000 which must be paid in full on closing.
So what is the land transfer tax?
Basically it’s a tax that must be paid whenever you purchase a home in Toronto. Combine the Toronto and the provincial Land Transfer Tax, and you get the highest taxes of it’s kind in North America (We’re tied with Philadelphia).
The biggest issue is it makes owning a home in Toronto an unrealistic goal for most of us, so we’re forced to move out to the suburbs – 905 area code, which in essence makes Toronto less competitive when it comes to home ownership. This also congests our highways due to the high volume of commuters. So not only is it costing a fortune, it’s bad for our highways, and if you consider all the smog, it’s bad for our environment as well.
So how can you help?
Now it’s easy to speak up! City council is expected to debate whether the Land Transfer Tax should stay or go, so with pressure from you, the taxpayer, your local councillor could be the voice we need in order to scrap this unfair and expensive tax.
Take a minute. Please go to this site and take action! You can help make a difference.
