Taxpayers Federation Calls on Wynne and Tory Not to Implement Toronto Hotel Tax

TORONTO, ON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on Mayor John Tory and Premier Kathleen Wynne to stop any plans for a hotel tax in Toronto. Documents reveal that Mayor Tory asked the provincial government for permission to tax hotel rooms in a November 10, 2015 meeting. The documents suggest that a hotel tax may already be a done deal, and outline a conversation the mayor had with the Premier, stating “[w]hy wouldn’t [we] say ‘yes’ as the premier basically did the last time?”

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“Yet another tax is not the answer to Toronto’s out of control spending,” said CTF Ontario Director Christine Van Geyn. “The City Manager has called Toronto’s spending unsustainable. The TTC budget grew by 16 per cent this year, and the police budget by 10 per cent. The problem is growing labour costs and the City needs to tackle this responsibility head-on instead of always turning to taxpayers to foot the spending they keep promising and can’t deliver.” A January 2016 report considered a number of new taxes that the city could implement, as it pushes up against its self-imposed debt limit, including the hotel tax. The proposed taxes include reviving the vehicle tax, city alcohol and tobacco taxes, parking taxes, and working with the province to implement development levies, sales taxes and toll roads. “The slew of new taxes proposed in the ‘revenue-tool’ report shows a total abdication of city council’s responsibility to manage Toronto’s finances. Wynne and Tory are going to punish those who want to visit through this proposed hotel tax. Why would we want to drive tourism away? This hotel tax is a bad idea and should be stopped,” concluded Van Geyn. Christine Van Geyn, CTF Ontario Director Email: cvangeyn@taxpayer.com Twitter: @cvangeyn

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