TORONTO—Throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, but particularly in the City of Toronto, businesses pay much higher property tax rates than residents, which can lead to businesses leaving the area or simply closing, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“When punitive commercial property taxes force businesses to leave or close, the make-up of our communities and cities can change profoundly,” said Josef Filipowicz, a senior policy analyst with the Fraser Institute and co-author Who Bears the Burden of Property Taxes in Canada’s Largest Metropolitan Areas?