• Kathleen Wynne may be planning on giving municipalities power to levy their own land transfer tax, like in Toronto where home buyers are taxed double rest of province

• New tax will cost between $10,000 and $15,000 on a $450,000 home, putting home ownership dream further out of reach

TORONTO, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the premier and Minister of Municipal Affairs Ted McMeekin to halt any plans to grant municipalities outside of Toronto the power to double the land transfer tax paid by home buyers.

The land transfer tax is currently charged on any purchase of land in Ontario on a graduated basis. The total value of a property over $400,000 is charged a 2 per cent provincial land transfer tax. The City of Toronto land transfer tax essentially doubles the tax.

“Owning a home used to be the norm, but now with a myriad of taxes and fees, it’s becoming little more than a dream. If municipalities are granted the power to double the land transfer tax, homebuyers could be forced to pay between $10,000 to $15,000 in land transfer tax for a home priced at $450,000,” said CTF Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn.

In Toronto, where the average detached home is now priced over $1 million, homeowners pay a $16,475 provincial land transfer tax and $15,725 Toronto municipal land transfer tax.

“Mayors and provincial politicians like to talk about what can be done to make housing in Toronto and Ontario more affordable, but the reality is they need to look in the mirror. It is policies like the land transfer tax, HST on new homes, subway construction levies, development charges and convoluted and irrational building codes that drive up the price of housing,” continued Van Geyn. “If the premier and Minister McMeekin give the municipalities the power to double the land transfer tax, they’ll be driving the dream of home ownership even further away from Ontarians.”