Good evening Mssrs. Duncan and McGuinty:
Some time ago I requested information from Mayor Miller and the City of Toronto. Because I received no response I solicited the help of a notable Councilor. My request made its way to the City General Manager's office and Director of Revenue. After repeated emails I was told I would receive the information requested. I have received nothing to date. Oddly, after many requests, Mayor Miller held a special news conference announcing the City of Toronto had a $100,000,000.00 surplus when a deficit was previously forecast.
Fourth Request - Is there a vacuum in our Provincial Parliament?
My question was on the Hemson Report and the impact of the new City taxes - which took effect February, 2008. I had estimated that the new City Land Transfer tax and additional Automobile License Fees could have contributed as much as $1,000,000,000 per year or 1/8 of the City budget. This, in my opinion, is why we had a surplus and may continue to have if the money is not thrown in a pit of waste and corruption.
My question for you gentlemen is just as simple. In the past decade we have seen incredible growth in real estate development and the introduction of market value assessment (MVA) - although MVA appears to be disjointed and inequitable in many regards. I would like to know the following:
1. What was the property tax revenue base in the year 2000 and what was it in 2009
(yearly amounts for the decade would be great information)
2. How much Land Transfer was collected for each of the years 2000 - 2009
3. Finally, how many additional units have been added to the tax rolls since 2000 within the following context:
Residential Homes
Condominium Residences
Townhouse Residences
Cottage Properties
High Rise Commercial Towers (including hotels) - square footage as well
Commercial Units & Square Footage
Industrial Units & Square Footage
All other
I hope you are not like Mayor Miller with a lot to hide. I am also confident that HST will be a big cash cow for the Provincial coffers. So big that it may actually wipe out the deficit in two years. But what will happen with all the excess money after that?
Thank you,
Joseph Pede
