Toronto homeowners are looking at an increase in property tax of at least 10.5 per cent, nearly four times the average annual increase over the previous 25 years.GETTY IMAGES
Words matter
Re “Canada has a moral obligation to support South Africa’s genocide case against Israel” (Jan. 15): Many years ago, I was at a lecture in California given by Steven Pinker about his research on the decline of violence over time in human societies.
During the Q&A, someone asked him about the violence of poverty. He responded that poverty is undesirable all by itself, but if we make everything “violence,” then nothing is violence.
I believe contributor Avi Lewis is attempting to do this with genocide. If genocide means nothing, I can’t help but think it will contribute to the reversal of the optimistic trend that Mr. Pinker described.
Words mean something until they don’t.
Greg Hart Calgary
Money and power
Re “Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe views his city as a ‘small province’ and not just a national capital” (Jan. 13): Mark Sutcliffe’s idea that Ottawa is much like a small province seems as vacuous as his first year in office has been.
Rather than leading the city in the directions it should go, I see he has chosen to sit back and be as unobtrusive as possible. Meanwhile, the problems and the city’s stove-piped bureaucracy grind on.
Ontario municipalities, Ottawa included, are bound hand and foot to that other bureaucracy and its political masters at Queen’s Park. One-quarter of Ottawa’s operating revenue is outside its control. Much of the rest is determined by rules made by the province.
Erwin Dreessen Ottawa
Toronto taxes
Re “There’s an alternative to sky-high municipal property taxes. It’s a municipal sales tax” (Opinion, Jan. 13): Many municipal politicians and organizations have been calling for municipal sales tax for years.
The ever-growing responsibilities of towns and cities has far outstripped their ability to finance them through property taxes. And this problem can only be solved by federal or provincial action.
Before unilateral federal reduction, the combined HST was 15 per cent in Ontario. If both the feds and Ontario each raised their rate by 1 per cent and assigned this revenue to municipalities based on population, the pressure on property taxes would be largely eliminated and the HST rate would only return to its previous level.
The fiscal balance between levels of government is out of whack. What worked in 1867, when municipalities were an afterthought, doesn’t work well today. And it can be fixed without fiddling with the Constitution.
Maybe it just requires more angry property-tax payers to get it done.
Steve Parish Former mayor; Ajax, Ont.
I believe property taxes will never sufficiently cover municipal expenses. Therefore another source of revenue is required.
I favour a municipal sales tax as an adjunct. And it would require commuters to help cover the costs of the benefits they receive.
Rick Walker Toronto
Of all forms of municipal taxation, the poll tax is the fairest. But ask those associated with Margaret Thatcher how that worked out in Britain.
Creating a uniform market-value assessment system for residential, commercial and industrial properties in Toronto would introduce tax fairness, while generating most of the revenues required to operate municipal government responsibly. But the political will to do so has been noticeably absent at city hall. Uniform MVA seems to be the third rail of Toronto politics.
Taxpayers across Canada will likely continue to subsidize Toronto and its residents until a courageous mayor steps forward and does the right thing by implementing uniform MVA – or until a fair-minded premier does so on behalf of all hard-working Canadian taxpayers.
John Challinor II Councillor, Ward 2; Milton, Ont.
Property taxes in Canada are paid with after-tax income. Because of this, they are a significant cost burden for homeowners.
In the case of Toronto, much of this money goes to social services provided by the city such as subsidized housing. It seems punitive and unfair to use after-tax income to pay for a plethora of social services that Toronto provides, while many other municipal governments do not provide these services at all.
Why aren’t these social services paid for with income tax like others provided by our provincial and federal governments?
Greg Nevison Toronto
Would a homebuyer be dissuaded from a purchase by proposed tax increases?
My house would cost a buyer about $1.8-million. My taxes are about $6,000. A 15-per-cent increase would mean an additional $900 a year.
On what planet would this deter a potential buyer from taking on a $1.4-million mortgage?
David Gordon Toronto
Last year in my city, taxes for a million-dollar home were $14,350 versus $6,319 in Toronto. So there’s still a lot of room for Toronto to substantially increase property taxes.
Andy Werner Stratford Ont.
There’s a conclusion to be drawn from columnist Andrew Coyne’s entirely reasonable proposals: that Toronto acquire provincial responsibilities and powers, in whichever way makes the most sense constitutionally.
Contiguous municipalities may choose to join Toronto in this venture.
Richard Gilbert Toronto
How much?
Re “Gripped by Toronto’s annual budget panic? Just wait for the surplus” (Report on Business, Jan. 17): The revelation that Toronto is running surpluses at the same time it is floating double-digit tax increases deserves more scrutiny by city councillors.
The roadmap laid out here is clear: Ask city staff for actual results when presented with a budget. I see no other way to tackle this problem. Then make the appropriate revenue raising and spending decisions.
Brian Johnston Toronto
It’s been my observation that Toronto’s current administration cannot effectively communicate, negotiate, motivate or innovate. Based on this opinion, I would add “calculate” to that list.
One would think these are fairly important skills to have when running Canada’s largest city, which has the potential to be a leading global power.
Mark Spurr Toronto
New history
Re “The death of the DVD has been greatly exaggerated” (Arts & Books, Jan. 13): I recently spent the holidays rewatching my boxset of Canada: A People’s History. For those who remember it, that’s 15 DVD discs in 480p resolution.
Someone (the CBC?) should reissue this epic and vital documentary series on Blu-ray discs in HDTV or 4K format. This masterpiece of history, our history, is richly deserving of a new life for today’s generation of Canadians.
Tom Kennedy Toronto
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