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Could Toronto homeowners face a second tax bill to make up for provincial cuts?

BY CITYTV NEWS STAFF

POSTED MAY 14, 2019 4:03 PM EDT

Once bitten, twice taxed?

That’s suddenly a daunting possibility after Budget Chair, Coun. Gary Crawford, admitted that the city could potentially ding homeowners with a second tax bill, or resort to cutting essential city services, to compensate for Premier Doug Ford’s provincial budget cuts.

Crawford said the prospect of hiking taxes troubled him, but he couldn’t rule it out in the face of a City Manager report that estimated the city’s 2019 funding loss from provincial cuts at nearly $180 million.

“I will be doing everything I can to ensure that we will keep the commitment to keep property taxes low … the reality is … I don’t think I can actually find that kind of money in efficiencies…without severely cutting services, or raising taxes,” Crawford said Tuesday.

In the report presented to city council on Monday, City Manger, Chris Murray, outlined the financial implications of Ford’s cuts.

“Based on the best available information to date, the estimated funding loss to the City of Toronto Council-approved 2019 Budget is $177.65 million,” the report states.

The City Manager’s report broke down the estimated 2019 budget funding loss as follows:

• $24 million from the cancellation of planned Provincial Gas Tax Funding increment
• $65 million for Toronto Public Health
• $84.8 million for Children’s Services
• $3.85 million for Toronto Paramedic Services

Crawford says the lost money won’t be easy to find.

“(That amount) is upwards of a 6, 7 per cent property tax increase and that concerns me. Either that, or we look at cutting services, major services, that residents of the city expect.”

City Council voted 25-1 on Tuesday to request that the province reverse the “unilateral, retroactive cuts” to the city’s 2019 budget. The only councillor who voted against was Michael Ford, the Premier’s nephew.

On Monday, Premier Ford responded to the City Manager report at Queen’s Park, questioning the numbers.

“They’re saying we cut $24 million from transit? You’ve got to be kidding me … we’re investing $28.5 billion in transit, the vast majority is going into Toronto to get people from Point A and Point B,” he said, referring to the province’s ambitious plan to expand Ontario’s transit network.

Crawford said he hopes to sit down with Mayor John Tory and the province to try and find an amicable solution.

“I know there is work to do … but to suggest that we can find $180 million of efficiencies within weeks or a couple of months is not possible,” he stressed. “And I think he should know that, that’s why we want to sit down with him, that’s why we want to have that conversation with him to figure out how to move forward.”

Council was discussing the dire situation at city hall on Tuesday.

“We are faced with retroactive cuts by the government of Ontario to our budgets that were already approved earlier this year,” Mayor Tory bemoaned. “The cuts were imposed without regard to the budget process of our city.”

“Toronto is Ontario’s economic engine,” he added. “And these cuts run the risk of stalling that engine.”

Where you live makes a big difference in how much extra in taxes you can expect to pay this year.

News 09:06 PM by Matthew Van Dongen The Hamilton Spectator

Hamilton Spectator file photo

Rising property values will again translate into higher tax hikes for homeowners in Wards 1 through 3 this year.

City council recently approved a 2019 operating budget of about $887 million, including a tax levy increase of about $30 million.

That means the “average” owner of a Hamilton home worth $358,600 can expect to pay an extra $88 in city taxes, or 2.5 per cent more than last year. (Water rates will add an extra $32, too.)

But where you live can make a big difference in your actual tax hike.

For example, the average tax increase in Ward 1 is 4.4 per cent (an extra $173), while the urban portion of Ward 13-Dundas will see an average hike of less than one per cent (an extra $29).

Part of that disparity is due to “higher-than-average” spikes in property value in parts of the lower city as determined by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, said acting city manager Mike Zegarac.

The last round of MPAC assessments called for an average 27 per cent bump in Hamilton property values phased in over four years. (We’re in the third year of that cycle.)

So, anyone seeing above-average increases to their assessed home value should also brace for a relatively higher tax hike outside of whatever extra spending the city approved.

Zegarac noted assessment-related tax hikes in the old city don’t translate into more cash for the city to spend. Instead, taxpayers in other parts of the city benefit from a corresponding “easing of the burden.”

By ward, the highest “average” tax hike in 2019 is technically in Ward 3, at 4.5 per cent. But the ward also has some of the lowest assessed property values in Hamilton, so that hike translates into about $95 extra.

Ward 1 has relatively higher property values to go along with its 4.4 per cent tax hike.

But the west end also has older residents and young families who will struggle with the relative spike in taxes, said Coun. Maureen Wilson.

“There is a real impact that you can’t ignore,” she said, adding that’s one reason she supports a planned light rail transit line as a way to promote development and “grow our tax base.”

Wilson also argued the city must control tax hikes via “sustainable development” rather than costly sprawl — as well as by boosting development charges to actually cover the cost of maintaining city infrastructure. Council will tackle that thorny issue later this year.

Interestingly, Ancaster Coun. Lloyd Ferguson has also pointed to tax shifts due to reassessment as a reason to support LRT, arguing more lower city development will translate into suburban tax relief.

The lowest urban ward tax hikes in 2019 go to residents of Dundas and select urbanized pockets of Ward 11 (1.6 per cent, extra $58.)

The Dundas tax relief is due in part to reassessment, but also to a budget reduction for planned parkland purchases that were area-rated specifically to taxpayers in that community.

Which is a good reminder: the amount of tax you pay is also affected by the city services you get.

Old city wards pay more of the freight for the HSR (and represent the vast majority of bus riders) and so will see more of a tax impact from a 14 percent transit budget bump.

Rural parts of the city with volunteer firefighting service and no transit, by comparison, will see lower tax hikes, mostly below 2 per cent. Depending on average property values, that could mean you pay anywhere from an extra $43 to $71 this year.

The city actually breaks down the ward averages by urban, rural and service levels.

In a month or two, you will also be able to see the breakdown for your own property using a city tool at taxcalculator.hamilton.ca.

Average ward tax hikes by % (urban area)

Ward 3 ($208,200): 4.5% or $95 extra

Ward 1 ($385,000): 4.4% or $173 extra

Ward 2 ($261,800): 4.3% or $115 extra

Ward 4 (219,100): 3.3% or $74 extra

Ward 7 ($318,800): 3.1% or $103 extra

Ward 8 ($346,400): 3% or $109 extra

Ward 14 ($383,600): 2.9% or $113 extra

Ward 6 (314,900): 2.7% or $89 extra

Ward 5 ($296,600): 2.5% or $74 extra

Ward 10 ($396,300): 2.1% or $77 extra

Ward 9 ($378,800): 2% or $70 extra

Ward 15 ($499,900): 1.9% or $89 extra

Ward 12 ($512,800): 1.7% or $82 extra

Ward 11 (361,100): 1.6% or $58 extra

Ward 13 ($457,400): 0.7% or $29 extra

mvandongen@thespec.com

905-526-3241 | @Mattatthespec

mvandongen@thespec.com

Creating Jobs and Reducing Regulatory Burdens in 12 Sectors Across Ontario

April 2, 2019 12:17 P.M.

Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

Ontario’s government is putting people first by passing the Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act (Bill 66). Along with regulatory changes, the Act will reduce specific regulatory burdens in 12 sectors, helping businesses to grow — and open Ontario for business to create and keep good jobs.

Our government is taking over 30 actions to make it easier for businesses to create jobs and for people to find them. These actions will cut business costs, harmonize regulatory requirements with other provinces and states, end duplication and reduce barriers to investment.

Protects industrial lands

Ministry of Finance
The government has confirmed with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) that it is assessing industrial properties on current permitted uses, not speculative uses
MPAC administers the property assessment system in Ontario. This measure provides greater certainty for Ontario’s business community, and confirms that the methodology MPAC uses to assess business properties is based on permitted land uses only, not on speculative uses. This protects businesses from steep property tax increases on employment lands where land values have jumped because of new residential developments nearby.

More can be found in the Backgrounder document at
https://news.ontario.ca/medg/en/2019/04/creating-jobs-and-reducing-regulatory-burdens-in-12-sectors-across-ontario.html