Thinking about buying your dream home? The province of Ontario is ready to give municipalities the right to levy a municipal land transfer tax (MLTT) which could double the current amount of land transfer tax when buying a home.
This means that the land tax on an average Canadian home could increase to upwards of $10,000. For the 90% of Canadians who believe that owning their own home is a part of their Canadian dream, the potential hike in land transfer taxes will make this dream much more difficult to attain.
The idea of bringing in the MLTT isn’t new to Ontarians. In 2006 this tax was adopted in Toronto. The MLTT in Toronto led to a loss of 15,000 jobs through out its first five years, the loss of 2.3 billion in economic activity, and the loss of about 722 million in potential labour income (Ipsos Reid 2014-2015). These factors, among others, revealed it was not a good, long-term, financial solution.
Thankfully there is hope, MPP Steve Clark is calling on the Ontario government to oppose the MLTT. On December 3rd Clark’s motion will be tabled for debate in the legislative assembly.
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) is actively lobbying against the proposed tax. Recently, the association that represents more than 60,000 real estate brokers and salespeople in Ontario launched a website with the purpose to educate, inform, and campaign against the MLTT. The site includes a simple petition tool and a transfer tax calculator.
What can you do? Get informed and contact your local MPP to encourage them to vote in support of Steve Clark’s motion on Thursday, December 3rd.
Summary of facts:
- 90% of Ontarians think home ownership is part of the Canadian dream.
- 6 in 10 Ontarians think the MLTT is an unfair tax on homeowners.
- 3 out of 4 Ontarians say that an MLTT would delay their decision to buy a home.
- When implemented in Toronto, the MLTT hurt Toronto’s economy and lead to the loss of nearly than 15,000 jobs
- The average cost of a home in Ontario is $445,000, meaning the average homeowner will be paying nearly 10,000 in Land Transfer taxes.
Feature image by: www.goldgreece.com/taxation/