Mayor Rob Ford says the land transfer tax will be reduced next year, perhaps by 25 per cent.
During his election campaign, Ford promised to abolish the tax immediately upon taking office. Late in the campaign, he said he might have to wait until 2012. He has hedged further as mayor, promising to abolish the tax by the end of his four-year term.
In an interview with CP24’s Stephen LeDrew on Thursday morning, he said, “We’re going to start working on that this year.â€
“I can’t say we’re gonna wipe it out this year, but it might be a quarter this year, a half next year, or — you know, but we’re gonna do it piece by piece. You’re gonna see a portion of the land transfer tax, I don’t know how much right now, be gone by the end of next year,†Ford said.
Ford has repeatedly argued that Toronto does not have the money to pay for its programs and services even with the lucrative tax, which is expected to generate about $300 million in 2011. He will face stiff council resistance if he attempts to reduce it.
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Left-leaning Councillor Gord Perks said Ford had “lost touch with reality.â€
“On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays he tells us we’re broke. On Thursdays and Fridays he tells us to cut our income. He doesn’t know how to govern,†Perks said.
In the interview, Ford said he believed work on a Sheppard subway extension could begin rapidly. “We're gonna get shovels in the ground, hopefully this year or next year, on Sheppard,†he said.