A message to Joe Pantaloons....we don't always buy things because we can afford them but rather because of necessity. Doesn't he think having a roof over your head a necessity? Doesn't he think that having a car to get to work a necessity.
Get ready! City set to hit cars, homesLand transfer and vehicle fees could soarBy ZEN RURYK, CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
Toronto's municipal politicians will have homebuyers and drivers in their sights today as they look at new taxes.
Mayor David Miller and the councillors he appointed to Toronto's influential executive committee will consider a hefty land transfer tax and tacking on $60 to the price of the annual vehicle registration fee that drivers now pay. The city is proposing a $30 fee for motorcycle owners.
Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone said there's no doubt the cash-strapped city needs money. The only question, he added, is how Toronto council should boost the amount it collects from city residents.
"I'm in favour of the City of Toronto -- which is Canada's largest city -- becoming even better. In order to that, you need money," said Pantalone.
He said that if someone can afford to buy a $500,000 home, the city's proposed landtransfer tax will not prevent that person from making the purchase.
'WORTH IT'
"Secondly, the vehicle registration -- if you can afford the insurance, can afford the car, can afford the high price of gas -- getting the $60 a year, which is $5 a month, in order to go towards environmental initiatives ... then it's also well worth it."
The city's proposed land transfer tax would be applied on a sliding scale: The more you pay for your home, the higher the tax.
A buyer would pay $2,225 on a home that sold for $250,000, $4,475 at $400,000, $8,200 at $600,000, and $12,000 on a property purchased for $1 million.
City finance officials estimate the city would rake in $300 million annually from the land transfer tax and an additional $56 million a year from the vehicle registration levy.
Von Palmer, director of government relations for the Toronto Real Estate Board, said that the city's proposal amounts to a 100% increase in the current land transfer tax. The provincial government already imposes such a levy.
He said that if the city approves the tax, it will add $4,200 to the cost of buying an average house in Toronto -- one that sold for $380,000 last year.
"What you do is you impact young home buyers, first-time homebuyers -- those that can least afford to pay the tax," Palmer said. "As you know, $400,000 barely gets you a decent property in Toronto."
He described the proposed levy as a "back-breaking tax" that must be paid up front.
Faye Lyons, of the Canadian Automobile Association, said she opposed the proposal for the city to impose a vehicle registration fee. She said motorists feel "overtaxed and overburdened."
City council will have final say on whether to impose the new taxes next month.
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