Toronto staff are recommending a nine per cent hike to the city’s residential property tax — the largest single-year increase since amalgamation in 1998 — as they look to fill a nearly $1.8 billion budget shortfall in 2024 and a grim long-term fiscal outlook.
With the recommendation of an additional 1.5 per cent increase to the city building tax, property owners could see their tax bill jump 10.5 per cent this year if the figures go unchanged during five weeks of scheduled budget debates and consultations.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Toronto staff are recommending a nine per cent hike to the city’s residential property tax — the largest single-year increase since amalgamation in 1998 — as they look to fill a nearly $1.8 billion budget shortfall in 2024 and a grim long-term fiscal outlook.
“It is no secret that this is going to be a challenging financial year,” Carroll told reporters, adding that higher property tax bills are necessary to maintain important city services.
According to city staff, the property tax increase would cost the average household another $26.75 per month, or about $321 annually, and generate $380 million in additional revenue this year.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has been calling on Ottawa for months to provide more money for refugee claimants, who currently account for nearly half of the city’s shelter residents — a figure that has rapidly expanded since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Avi Bodenstein, a Toronto homeowner for the past 10 years, said the increase in taxes will hurt residents and she is skeptical the extra money will be spent “properly.”
According to city staff, the proposed budget shifts $578 million in sustained financial impacts from the pandemic on to Toronto’s tax base, as relief funds from other levels of government have stopped flowing.
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