No Municipal Land Transfer Tax on Metrolinx’s list of proposed revenue tools

On April 2, the provincial transit agency Metrolinx released a list of potential revenue tools to pay for the expansion of public transit in Ontario. Fortunately for Ontario REALTORS® and provincial home buyers, the list excluded a municipal land transfer tax (LTT).

The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) has been a strong opponent of the municipal land transfer tax and most recently spent the past several months advocating its position to the provincial decision makers. The issue also dominated OREA’s 2013 pre-budget submission to the Ontario finance committee. The Windsor and Ottawa real estate boards also joined the budget consultation and emphasized the dangers of the tax in their presentations.

Some of the new taxes/fees proposed by Metrolinx included a payroll tax, a fuel tax, development charges, highway tolls, etc. Click to here to view the full list.

Metrolinx is currently developing an investment strategy to help finance The Big Move project that focuses on a massive transit expansion in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area and infrastructure renewal across the province. So far, 11 options were singled out as potential revenue tools that might help bring additional $2 billion a year needed for transit improvements. Metrolinx is expected to release the final investment strategy by June 1, 2013 for the Ontario government’s review.

OREA will continue monitoring any related developments to ensure REALTOR® opposition to the municipal LTT is voiced at Queen’s Park.