Mayor Rob Ford’s inner circle is discussing a staff report that proposes a number of new or increased taxes to raise billions of dollars in additional funding for public transit.

A renewed vehicle registration tax, highway tolls and a personal income tax increase are among 10 options suggested in a report prepared by Cam Weldon, Toronto’s retiring deputy city manager and chief financial officer.

Months ago, city council asked Weldon to identify possible streams of revenue to raise cash for Metrolinx's $50-billion plan to expand transit and ease congestion in the greater Toronto and Hamilton areas (GTHA).

“The options examined in this discussion paper are considered by staff to be the most appropriate and feasible in terms of policy fit, revenue potential, fairness and administrative efficiency,” Weldon wrote in his report.

Providing a sense of urgency, Weldon said congestion is a major burden on the local economy, triggering an annual $6 billion hit that is expected to balloon to $15 billion by 2013 without expansion investment.

Weldon said the Toronto region has lagged behind other cities in transit investment and ranks poorly in average commute times, as it grows faster than many competing cities.

According to estimates, the GTA is expected to grow by 2.8 million residents over the next 25 years. Major investments are necessary to sustain that kind of population growth, Weldon said.

These are the 10 funding options proposed in Weldon’s report (potential GTHA annual revenue in parenthesis):

  • One per cent personal income tax ($1.4 billion)
  • One per cent sales tax ($1.3 billion)
  • One per cent property tax ($90 million)
  • One per cent payroll tax ($500 million)
  • Highway tolls, 10 cents per kilometre ($1.5 billion)
  • 10-cent fuel tax ($500 million)
  • Vehicle registration tax ($100 million)
  • Parking levy of $365 per space ($1 billion)
  • One per cent land transfer tax ($600 million)
  • Development charges of $5,000 per unit for property owners ($200 million)

None of the options can be implemented without provincial consideration of Metrolinx's funding plan or legislative changes.

Weldon’s report recommends public consultations be held as early as November to hear what people think of the options.

Recommendations would be passed on to Metrolinx as it develops a funding strategy for a $50 billion, 25-year Big Move transportation plan for the Toronto and Hamilton areas.

Metrolinx’s funding plan is due next June, but the source of the entire $50 billion cost has not been identified, according to Weldon's report.

“It is estimated that annual funding of about $4 billion, or an additional $2 billion per year compared to current Metrolinx appropriations, is required from a variety of measures, potentially impacting all citizens of the GTHA,” Weldon wrote.

The Big Move plan consists of transit, GO Transit, walking, cycling, road and highway projects.

It includes a number of Toronto projects that are funded and underway, including the first phases of the Eglinton Crosstown, Finch West and Sheppard East light rail lines, Spadina subway extension to Vaughan, and a rail line between Union Station and Pearson International Airport.

Unfunded projects in the plan include the second phase of the new LRT lines, Yonge subway extension from Finch Station to Richmond Hill/Langstaff, Scarborough RT expansion, GO Transit rail improvements, and downtown core subway capacity relief.

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