Letter from Councillor Del Grande regarding the Land Transfer Tax

I have received a number of duplicate messages demanding that the Land Transfer Tax be removed.

I cannot answer each and everyone personally but I too have to standardize my answer.

The City has a structural financial problem. In the last administration the answer was to look for "funding tools" which meant more taxes. These included the LTT, car registration tax, billboard tax, new water tax, new garbage tax, new user fees.

Every time one of these was introduced people screamed that they found them unfair.

I too find them unfair and do not support a double taxation and I especially am concerned to use it as a means to continue to have spending dependent upon it.

So, we started with the removal of the car registration tax because I see the Province using this to pay for transit. The cost was 50 million which was difficult but we managed by reducing spending to provide a 0 tax increase in 2011 and a 3% increase in 2012 slicing hard in spending.

Council did not have the fortitude to do the things that needed to be done and added back spending in 2012.

I wanted to reduce the LTT by 5% each year but I found that our spending is tied into this revenue which will cause us trouble once building activity slides.

I also have a capital debt of 3.2 billion which will rise to 4.1 on expenditures determined by past decisions. This does not include 700 million that is required to purchase the street cars that were unfunded ( the order was cut back to the minimum, each cost 6 million)

So, I embarked to sell Enwave and other City land holdings and when this was done Council wanted to spend it on other priorities.

I also find that 2014 is going to be very hard with FED/PROV funding ending and our reserve base to fund programs is gone. I cannot then ask in 2014 to put the reduction in LTT back to cover the 2014 problems that are coming.

People want things and do not want to pay for them or have others pay for them.

Toronto enjoys the lowest property taxes- 25% less than anyone and provides all kinds of benefits for FREE that other communities do not.

We have the highest Business taxes and to keep jobs that must occur but even with this wish it is difficult to do.

So, I have not been twidling my thumbs when you consider that a 2% increase in operating spending of 9 billion cause a demand for $180 million and a 2% increase brings in 46 million you can see we have a structural deficit.

The LTT only helps to delay the day of all Torontonians facing all the realities including the back log in transit, roads, parks etc which are each worth billions not to mention pensions and sick leave.

I also know that we have the lowest development fees which is providing this growth to the City and real estate sales have been strong.

The City is not just about LTT, it is about what you get when you live in the City even though we all cannot afford it.

Thank you.
Councillor Mike Del Grande