Toronto city council will hike the city's vacant home tax amid a growing housing crisis, a year after the new fee was introduced. Council voted 21-2 in...
Mayor Olivia Chow promised to increase the vacant home tax during the spring byelection and said the measure will help Toronto address its growing affordability crisis and also help trim its budget deficit.
"We're seeing speculators sitting on much needed housing, strangling the market, driving the price of rental housing higher and making it even less affordable for people," Chow said Wednesday in council.The hike will go into effect for the 2024 tax year. The city says that by the end of February, it had received approximately 95 per cent compliance as home owners either declared their home occupied or vacant. As of August 1, just over 2,160 homes were declared vacant. The city ultimately deemed a total of 17,400 vacant, meaning their owners had to pay the tax.
The city is still working its way through a backlog of thousands of homeowners appealing being assessed for the tax. He said the cost to administer the vacant home tax — which is approximately $11 million a year — cuts into the effectiveness of the levy. "I think there are people that got caught up in a very expensive tax, and it's about to get much more expensive."The owners of two historic Lunenburg County buildings say they're excited to bring new businesses to their community, but are calling for more time and support to meet current fire safety and accessibility rules.The Old Confidence Lodge and Riverport Inn in the South Shore fishing community of Riverport, N.S.
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