Oxford County MPP slams Liberal's proposed municipal land transfer tax
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The Ontario Real Estate Association and the Woodstock-Ingersoll and District Real Estate Board are asking citizens in the community to send a clear message to MPPs that they oppose the municipal land transfer tax.
The tax, which is being proposed by the provincial Liberal government, will allow individual municipalities to impose local land transfer taxes, similar to what Toronto enacted in 2008. According to OREA, this led to a 16 per cent drop in housing transactions in Toronto, and lost the city approximately $2.3 billion in economic activity and 15,000 jobs.
In a media release, William Cattle, president of the Woodstock board, said Woodstock homebuyers would be forced to hand over $4,330 in total land transfer taxes on the average priced home if the tax was implemented.
"This will be a barrier to families looking to achieve their dreams of home ownership, and will have serious impacts on the local economy," Cattle said. "Every home transaction generates $55,000 in spin-off benefits, which creates jobs and supports local business."
In a recent Ipsos Reid poll indicated that 89 per cent of Ontarians living outside of Toronto were opposed to the tax, and that 69 per cent of Ontarians living in Toronto who already pay the tax were in support of repeal. This poll was conducted on behalf of OREA, and took from a sample of 1,501 Ontarians.
"We must get this message to our local MPPs to ensure that they hear the voice of their constituents before they vote on Dec. 3," said Cattle.
But it seems that those living in Oxford County won't have to worry too much about being heard, as Oxford MPP Ernie Hardeman told the Sentinel-Review he was staunchly opposed to the tax.
"I think it's a very counterproductive and unfair tax," Hardeman said. "It was a number of years ago when the City of Toronto Act was passed, (and) it included the ability of Toronto council to implement that tax only in Toronto ... As a municipal affairs critic, I was opposed to it then, (and) I was assured by the mayor of Toronto that he wasn't going to implement it. He just wanted the right to be able to do that.
"Of course, the first budget that came out there were suggestions to implement that tax and they did."
Hardeman also said the municipalities provide no service toward the transfer of title, and that it is the provinces responsibility to charge tax to do that.
"So when you have municipalities just because they can, to attach a tax to that, it makes it very unfair," he said. "Proportionally for the people who are buying a home, because why are they paying more for municipal services than anyone else... It will, of course, increase the price of housing... particular the people buying their first home.
"It will make housing more unaffordable and it's just a way to pay for other municipal services that have nothing to do with the actual function of municipalities."