Buying a car or a new home in Toronto is about to get more expensive according to a new city report that recommends two new taxes.
Out of the city's proposed eight new taxes, two are recommended in the city-staff report to be released on Monday.
The report suggests imposing a $60 vehicle-registration tax and a 1.5 per cent land transfer tax on the sale of residential and commercial property.
The new property tax is expected to generate $300 million for the cash-strapped city, while the vehicle registration tax would generate $54 million for Toronto.
The proposed taxes are part of eight possible taxes and fees the city is looking at, which include 5 per cent tax on alcohol served and sold at various establishments and a tax on billboards.
Mayor David Miller said the taxes will be essential to city services.
"We need the money to invest in services that Torontonians want in Toronto. Torontonians are overwhelmingly saying they are prepared to do it so long as they see if being invested in their neighbourhood in things they need," Miller said on Monday.
City councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong says the two proposed taxes are just the beginning.
"What bothers me the most is the fact that we are imposing a tax on all the homes across the city when we can't get our own financial house in order," Minnan-Wong told CTV News on Monday.
According to a new Decima Research poll conducted for the Toronto Board of Trade, the city taxes will have a serious affect on the economy.
The poll, conducted on more than 1,000 consumers, suggests 61 per cent of Toronto residents are opposed to the taxes.
The poll suggests the new taxes will change consumer habits and result in a loss of business for Toronto entrepreneurs.
"It will negatively impact consumer behaviour. It's going to result in lost sales, which ultimately means that we are less competitive within the city," Carol Wilding, President and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade, told CTV News.
Wilding said the proposed taxes could have a negative effect on business across the GTA.
"Many people from greater Toronto, the 905-area, will not come in as frequently and they've said that. Whether it be for tourist related activities or to go to a movie, the results show a significant decline," Wilding said.
Wilding said the land-transfer tax and the vehicle registration tax are the two most strongly opposed.
This sample resulted in an accuracy of 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
The city-staff report will go to council's executive committee next week and council is expected to vote on the taxes in mid July.
With a report from CTV's John Musselman
