The Toronto Real Estate Board is raising red flags over proposed changes to the land transfer tax.
In the same report that recommends road tolls, city staff say council can raise money by increasing the land transfer tax by a half or full percentage point depending on the home type and price (you can find the details listed below).
Von Palmer with the Toronto Real Estate Board says the proposed changes are nothing but a cash grab.
"City hall really should be focused on making home ownership in this great city more affordable, not less," he says.
TREB says that the proposed changes would increase the LTT for the average home buyer by 7 per cent, or $750. The buyer of the average priced home already pays over $11,000 to the city.
First-time home buyers would pay on average 4 per cent, or an extra $475 to the city.
City staff estimate the changes could bring in an extra $100-million a year.
Proposed changes:
- For one or two single-family residences, increasing Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates for value of consideration (VOC) above $2 million, from 2 percent to 2.5 percent;
- For all other types of properties, increasing Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates for value of consideration between $250,000 and $400,000 from 1 percent to 1.5 percent; and
- For all other types of properties, increasing Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates for value of consideration between $400,000 and $40 million from 1.5 percent to 2.0 percent, and for value of consideration over $40 million from 1.0 percent to 2.0 percent.