Ford firm on trimming city’s land transfer tax

Mayor rob Ford is holding steadfast to his promise to shave the land transfer tax despite a budget pressure that has widened after the province announced it is pulling $50-million in funding next year.

City manager Joe Pennachetti said Queen’s Park’s decision to phase out so-called “pooling” transfers means the city now has a $250-million hole to fill in the 2014 budget. “They’re trying to force us to keep the land transfer tax. They’re trying to force us to increase taxes. They’re trying to force us to bring back the vehicle registration tax,” said Mayor Ford, who has been escalating the rhetoric since the development was made public last week.

The city currently receives almost $150-million from the provincial government to help pay for programs such as welfare and social housing. That will drop to $100-million in 2014, $50-million in 2015 and nothing in 2016.

But provincial officials maintain the city will still come out $110-million ahead under the new arrangement, thanks in part to the forgiveness of a loan — a loan the city hasn’t been paying for years and which officials assumed would be written off. The provincial government is also uploading more costs that had previously been downloaded to the city. “As we’ve said all along, the City has choices,” Susie Heath, press secretary for finance minister Charles Sousa, wrote in an email. “Cutting funding for social housing is a choice the mayor is making, just as he has chosen not to benefit from land transfer or vehicle registration powers that he holds under the City of Toronto Act.”

Ana Bailao, a city councillor who led a task force on affordable housing, says Mr. Ford should back off his pledge to cut 10% from the land transfer tax.

“When we know the issues that we have with housing, with infrastructure, with transit, with even our parks and recreation infrastructure, I think it’s not the way to go.”