Toronto Raises Property Taxes To Keep Services In Place

If you’ve been watching the Canadian real estate market closely, you know there’s good news out there and a whole lot of bad. How you take it does depend a lot on perspective. Buyers are finding some incredible deals, but sellers are having a difficult time moving their properties and getting the prices they need for them. Mortgages are hard to come by and confidence levels are low. In the midst of it all, the city of Toronto is talking about raising real property taxes by 4 per cent.

Whilst this might seem like an insane idea in a market that’s already sour, this move could be seen as a double-edged sword. Yes, property taxes will go up, but Mayor David Miller is promising the hike, which is part of the overall $8.7 billion budget proposal, will ensure that important city services stay in place without major cuts in the face of government financial crunches.

What Miller is proposing amounts to about a 25-cent a day increase in property taxes. It would tack on about $90 a year to property taxes on a house valued around $390,000.

Although people are hard-pressed to pinch more money out of their own budgets, some might say a 25-cent increase daily is worth it to keep budget cuts out of major departments like police and fire service. If the level of service in those agencies and others like them went down due to budget cuts, the overall Toronto real estate market could suffer more. Still, adding any additional burdens to property owners at this time is not likely to be well received by some.

The city is scheduled to hold public hearings on the proposed budget Feb. 18. How this will pan out and its impacts on the property market remain to be seen. Back to Blog