Your No Plan B Mayor PROMISED that property taxes would not exceed inflation but the budget is based on a significantly higher property tax and now we find it will go up an ADDITIONAL 1% because Comrade Miller, his Executive Committee and his budget chief were asleep at the wheel.........
Toronto homeowners will see their property taxes increase by more than 4 per cent this year – an even higher figure than the 3.75 per cent increase previously calculated by city officials, according to a new staff report.
The report, which calculates detailed tax rates required to meet Toronto's 2008 budget, includes the cost of a tax break for small business that was neglected in previous estimates.
Since 2005, Toronto council has been gradually shifting more of the tax burden off business properties, and onto homeowners.
Toronto homeowners pay lower property tax rates than their counterparts elsewhere in Greater Toronto, while Toronto business properties are far more heavily taxed.
The main mechanism for transferring the burden is by assessing homeowners a higher percentage tax increase each year than businesses.
This year, homeowners were told they'd pay 3.75 per cent more, while businesses would pay a 1.25 per cent increase.
But the additional tax break for small business will push the homeowners' increase to 4.08 per cent, according to the new report.
The proposed tax rates will go to executive committee on Tuesday, and to a special meeting of council in April.
The numbers work like this:
The city's spending increase of $74.6 million this year requires an overall tax increase of 2.3 per cent.
Originally, the burden was going to be borne by handing homeowners a 3.75 per cent increase, and businesses, including large rental apartment buildings, a 1.25 per cent increase.
But that didn't take into account the special program for small business that city council approved three years ago. That program accelerates the shift in tax burden away from small businesses over a 10-year period, at the expense of homeowners.
The city recently revised the way it defines small business properties.
The accelerated tax break for small business will add an extra tax increase of 0.33 percentage points for homeowners this year, bringing their total increase to 4.08 per cent.
The average home in Toronto is assessed at $365,468.
The new tax rate will push the city's portion of the tax bill up $87.89, to $2,239.93.
Last year, the city's portion of the tax bill was $2,152.03.
The education portion of the property tax bill is unaffected by the tax shifts. City officials say education tax rates will be unchanged from last year.
The education tax bill for the average home is $964.84, bringing the total projected tax bill to $3,204.77.
Business education taxes will decrease slightly.
Mayor David Miller promised to keep tax increases in line with inflation, which he has defined as 3 to 4 per cent.
The Consumer Price Index, the most commonly used measure for inflation, was up 1.8 per cent in February from its level for February 2007.
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