Glen
Senior Member
With very few exceptions, Ontario’s business property owners are hugely overtaxed for benefits delivered to all Ontarians, according to the latest CFIB report, “The Tale of Two Tax Rates: How Ontario and its Municipalities Tax Business Propertiesâ€. In almost all of the 201 Ontario municipalities reviewed in the study, small business owners (and commercial tenants through their rent) shoulder a much higher burden of property taxes than do residents on property of similar value. This disparity between the property classes cannot be justified on any practical grounds – there is no relationship between the rate of taxes paid by business properties and the services received. While some progress has been made to right this injustice since CFIB last reviewed the gap, small businesses continue to be treated as cash cows by the province’s property tax system.
For instance, in 2009, industrial owners in Pembroke paid over four times more in property taxes than residents (a tax gap of 4.39), Toronto was second with a gap of 3.56, followed by Hamilton (3.33) and Calvin (3.22). In the commercial class, businesses in Toronto paid over three times more, in Owen Sound the tax gap was almost 2.3, followed by Kirkland Lake and Orillia (2.21), Brantford (2.13) and Prescott (2.10).
Both municipalities and the provincial government have a role to play in fixing the business property tax unfairness. To this end, CFIB has recommended a series of measures:
Accelerate the Business Education Tax (BET) relief plan and expand it beyond 2014;
Reduce the tax gap by controlling local spending;
Do not allow another City of Toronto Act; giving municipalities more taxing powers will not solve their budget woes;
Tax all property classes proportionately to the services that they receive.
Collect all property tax data in one public repository to increase transparency and accountability.
http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/english/adv..._treat_small_businesses_like_“cash_cows”.html
For instance, in 2009, industrial owners in Pembroke paid over four times more in property taxes than residents (a tax gap of 4.39), Toronto was second with a gap of 3.56, followed by Hamilton (3.33) and Calvin (3.22). In the commercial class, businesses in Toronto paid over three times more, in Owen Sound the tax gap was almost 2.3, followed by Kirkland Lake and Orillia (2.21), Brantford (2.13) and Prescott (2.10).
Both municipalities and the provincial government have a role to play in fixing the business property tax unfairness. To this end, CFIB has recommended a series of measures:
Accelerate the Business Education Tax (BET) relief plan and expand it beyond 2014;
Reduce the tax gap by controlling local spending;
Do not allow another City of Toronto Act; giving municipalities more taxing powers will not solve their budget woes;
Tax all property classes proportionately to the services that they receive.
Collect all property tax data in one public repository to increase transparency and accountability.
http://www.cfib-fcei.ca/english/adv..._treat_small_businesses_like_“cash_cows”.html