Cross-posted from Eye Daily.
In the not-so-far-off past, any suggestion of new taxes, any at all, would be political suicide. Today, in light of all the discussion surrounding the land transfer tax and the city’s financial problems, ideas for new taxes (anything but the land transfer tax or property taxes, really) are much more welcome.
Take road tolls. When Mayor David Miller let it slip that the city should consider tolls during his first run for mayor in 2003, his handlers quickly shushed him — it could have ruined his chances of getting elected.
Four years later, people across the city are wondering why city council didn’t discuss some sort of congestion charge along with the land transfer tax (or instead of it). Miller maintains that any discussion of applying road tolls should happen within the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (GTTA) so that other GTA regions can be involved. During debate over the new taxes yesterday, Councillor Bill Saundercook proposed the idea of road tolls yet again.
Miller, of course, didn’t completely embrace the idea. “If you put a toll on the DVP, you’re really tolling Scarborough,†he said, not budging on his view that the GTTA needs to be involved. He said that if we’re going to look at putting tolls on the Gardiner Expressway and DVP, we should also be looking at putting them on highways 427, 401, 400 and 404.
Another proposal Saudercook put forward was a 10 cent tax on all water bottles, which Miller called “an interesting idea worth discussing.†Since it wasn’t on the agenda to be discussed yesterday and would obviously require further study (to see how it would be implemented, among other things) Saundercook was told to bring the idea to the next executive committee meeting.
Other taxes that may be in the city’s not-so-far-off-future, according to today’s Toronto Star, include an alcohol tax, which is under review from staff and could raise about $44 million a year. Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti said he’ll take the lead on this and other “sin taxes†(cigarettes and entertainment). He’s also interested in how a lottery and casino could bring us more cash. Also being studied for future implementation is a tax on billboards, which could reel in up to $3 million a year. Some of these taxes, of course, may not be as warmly accepted as others. Just when you thought it was over, the debate over new taxes continues.
Photo courtesy Mute*’s
