Northern Light
Superstar
Everyone feel sorry for Toronto city council. How could they possibly budget. Out of 35 cities in Ontario they have the lowest tax rate of all of them and the 4th from lowest tax. Toronto needs a bailout. Come on Windsor, pay more provincial and and federal tax so that the upper levels of government can bail Toronto out. Everyone knows Windsor is where people are driving around in BMWs and Mercedes while Torontonians drive around in rust buckets.
City Avg Home Home Rank Tax Rate Tax Rate Rank Tax Tax Rank Caledon $1,709,975 1 0.80% 24 $13,680 1 Windsor $714,650 22 1.81% 1 $12,935 2 Whitby $991,105 12 1.12% 17 $11,100 3 Oakville $1,487,485 2 0.72% 30 $10,710 4 Pickering $981,563 14 1.08% 21 $10,601 5 Ajax $968,767 15 1.09% 19 $10,560 6 Orangeville $783,615 18 1.33% 10 $10,422 7 Aurora $1,363,412 3 0.76% 29 $10,362 8 Oshawa $782,227 20 1.30% 11 $10,169 9 Peterborough $693,871 26 1.44% 6 $9,992 10 Brampton $1,003,263 11 0.96% 23 $9,631 11 Hamilton $782,611 19 1.20% 14 $9,391 12 Guelph $810,200 17 1.14% 16 $9,236 13 Newmarket $1,124,974 7 0.79% 26 $8,887 14 Barrie $729,500 21 1.21% 13 $8,827 15 London $630,282 29 1.38% 8 $8,698 16 Kingston $636,150 28 1.36% 9 $8,652 17 Richmond Hill $1,317,247 4 0.65% 33 $8,562 17 Cambridge $714,650 22 1.18% 15 $8,433 19 St. Catharines $582,100 31 1.44% 6 $8,382 20 Niagara Falls $640,000 27 1.30% 11 $8,320 21 Vaughan $1,251,465 6 0.66% 32 $8,260 22 Burlington $1,060,052 9 0.77% 28 $8,162 23 Markham $1,282,561 5 0.63% 34 $8,080 24 Mississauga $987,356 13 0.80% 24 $7,899 25 Kitchener $714,650 22 1.10% 18 $7,861 26 Waterloo $714,650 22 1.09% 19 $7,790 27 Halton Hills $966,031 16 0.79% 26 $7,632 28 Milton $1,031,770 10 0.68% 31 $7,016 29 Sudbury $436,000 32 1.54% 5 $6,714 30 Toronto $1,093,097 8 0.61% 35 $6,668 31 North Bay $400,593 33 1.56% 4 $6,249 32 Ottawa $624,003 30 1.00% 22 $6,240 33 Thunder Bay $309,310 34 1.59% 2 $4,918 34 Sault Ste. Marie $296,629 35 1.58% 3 $4,687 35
Yes, Toronto should have a higher property tax rate; however..........
Remember that in Toronto you pay separately for garbage on top of this, which is not the case in many cities in Ontario
Remember also that Toronto charges Land Transfer Tax and a Vacant Homes Tax, to my knowledge, no other cities in Ontario do.
Then consider that Toronto has to support the majority of the province's homeless shelter beds; a disproportionate amount of public housing, 2 de facto 400-series highways, a subway system, and the province's only Reference Library among other things, on that dime.
I won't let the City off the hook for a moment;
But to balance next year's budget absent any bailout would be a tax hike of literally 30% in the mil rate.
That's without improving any services or addressing any of the tens of billions in unmet capital needs.
I 100% endorse the City jacking parking rates and raising property tax on SFH by 10% this year and next year; but I want that money to improve TTC service, to extend community centre and library hours, to reduce recreation user fees; to redevelop aging public housing, to build more Long Term Care beds, to beautify the City, improve street cleaning and snow plowing, add more waterfront trail and improve accessibility.
In light of the above, asking the province to pay for a subway station, that is far more jjustified than any of the stations its building in York Region in terms of ridership potential is hardly an egregious or hypocritical ask.