Ontario: This is what you get when Toronto doesn’t pay property tax!
The City of Toronto just voted to add road tolls to those willing to make a visit to paradise.
Let’s face it … Toronto is an AMAZING city. It’s probably one of the best in the world, if not, THE BEST.
But people who live in Toronto aren’t paying their fair share of property taxes. Here’s a list of property tax rates for major municipalities in Ontario:
| Ontario | Tax | Average | Average |
| Community | Rate | House Price | Total Taxes |
| Average: | 1.0073 | $508,172 | $5,119 |
| Markham | 1.0204 | $441,491 | $4,505 |
| Vaughan | 1.0148 | $438,968 | $4,455 |
| Cobourg | 1.6605 | $266,840 | $4,431 |
| Pembroke | 2.0001 | $207,680 | $4,154 |
| Brampton | 1.1954 | $313,954 | $3,753 |
| Collingwood | 1.2807 | $293,000 | $3,752 |
| Barrie | 1.3654 | $273,989 | $3,741 |
| Stratford | 1.3914 | $260,850 | $3,630 |
| Brockville | 1.5825 | $228,010 | $3,608 |
| Guelph | 1.3099 | $272,055 | $3,564 |
| Owen Sound | 1.4988 | $235,300 | $3,527 |
| Whitby | 1.2955 | $269,852 | $3,496 |
| Brantford | 1.6505 | $211,125 | $3,485 |
| Midland | 1.5191 | $227,380 | $3,454 |
| Toronto | 0.8528 | $387,482 | $3,305 |
| Kenora | 1.5208 | $216,580 | $3,294 |
| Kitchener | 1.2516 | $262,587 | $3,286 |
| Welland | 1.6986 | $192,851 | $3,276 |
| Mississauga | 1.0025 | $326,313 | $3,271 |
| Woodstock | 1.7283 | $189,146 | $3,269 |
| Sudbury | 1.6601 | $196,563 | $3,263 |
| Burlington | 1.0076 | $323,556 | $3,260 |
| Oshawa | 1.5886 | $203,988 | $3,241 |
| Waterloo | 1.2301 | $262,587 | $3,230 |
| Cambridge | 1.2623 | $245,442 | $3,098 |
| Orillia | 1.3869 | $218,847 | $3,035 |
| Hamilton | 1.2735 | $235,307 | $2,997 |
| Peterborough | 1.4794 | $200,035 | $2,959 |
| Kingston | 1.2917 | $227,896 | $2,944 |
| North Bay | 1.7766 | $161,908 | $2,876 |
| London | 1.4707 | $192,668 | $2,834 |
| S. Catharines | 1.4692 | $192,851 | $2,833 |
| Timmins | 2.1894 | $129,172 | $2,828 |
| Belleville | 1.1841 | $236,980 | $2,806 |
| Ingersoll | 1.4616 | $189,146 | $2,765 |
| Thorold | 1.4233 | $192,851 | $2,745 |
| Leamington | 1.4482 | $188,560 | $2,731 |
| Niagara Falls | 1.3953 | $192,851 | $2,691 |
| Windsor | 1.7226 | $150,506 | $2,593 |
| Tillsonburg | 1.4988 | $169,031 | $2,533 |
| Cornwall | 1.9561 | $127,102 | $2,486 |
| S. Ste. Marie | 2.0505 | $118,552 | $2,431 |
| Sarnia | 1.5644 | $155,104 | $2,426 |
| Petawawa | 1.0016 | $234,220 | $2,346 |
| Thunder Bay | 1.6865 | $134,867 | $2,275 |
| Ottawa | 0.7933 | $272,672 | $2,163 |
Toronto has the second lowest property tax rate after Ottawa (which gets a lot of subsidies from the federal government and Capital Commission).
Furthermore, if property was assessed properly – ie. taxes were based on the multi-million dollar home in Forest Hill and Rosedale – the City might actually be able to balance a rate increase with more revenue coming in from realistic housing prices.
The average house price in Toronto has just popped over $1.2 million and yet the average MPAC assessment value is about one-third of that amount, at $390,000.
Until that happens, the rest of Ontario has to pay admission to visit Toronto. John Tory just announced that road rolls will be applied to visitors using the Gardiner and Don Valley Parkway (no mention of the 427).
Kind of stupid, right?
At a rate of $200 million per year (the amount that the City of Toronto plans to take in with this new scheme), it’ll take them 150 years to address your $33 billion infrastructure deficit, assuming it doesn’t grow. Which it will.
C’mon Toronto: it’s time for you to understand that you’re going to have to pay your fair share. Ontario won’t carry you forever.
And let’s face it John Tory: you implement a proper and realistic rate of property tax or the government of Ontario will do it for you in the form of a ‘foreign investor’ tax or some other measure.