Top Toronto bureaucrats are urging councillors to consider taxing alcohol sold in the city and to resurrect the vehicle registration tax as the city seeks new streams of revenue.
Toronto is staring down a potential budget gap north of $500 million for 2017.
Not only does city staff want to bring the vehicle registration tax back, they suggest doubling it. The deeply unpopular $60 vehicle registration tax was killed by council in 2010 after a charge led by then-mayor Rob Ford. Now, estimates are that Toronto could pull in as much as $100 million a year by hitting each four-wheeled vehicle in the city with an annual fee of up to $120.
Officials have only offered a potential range of tax on booze you buy at the LCBO, Beer Store, grocery stores, smaller breweries, distilleries and wine shops. A 1% surcharge could pull in $15 million a year. Bump it up to 10%, and it's $26 million.
City staff has also recommended tolling the Gardiner Expressway and the Don Valley Parkway and taxing hotel stays. NEWSTALK 1010 has learned the mayor will endorse both measures.
Toronto would need the province to do some legislative tweaking, but there is a pitch to tack 5%-20% onto the cost of parking and on add a levy on off-street non-residential parking. While that levy would not be a tax on parking transactions, it is not clear if lot owners might pass on the cost to users.
City staffers propose a property tax levy of 0.5% every year for five years to help fund capital projects.