Mayor Tory says the proposed budget that will be debated by city council later this month will include a recommendation not to increase the residential property tax rate beyond the rate of inflation.

Toronto has the lowest property tax rate in the GTA and one of the lowest rates in the province but Tory told reporters on Monday that the city should not consider raising taxes in order to pay for the approximately $33 billion in approved but unfunded infrastructure projects currently on the table.

Rather, Tory said that the city should follow his plan to introduce road tolls along the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway and a tax on hotels and short-term accommodations. City staff have suggested that the two initiatives would raise an estimated $186 million in total annual revenue, assuming that tolls would be priced at $2 per trip.

“I do not have people coming up to me and begging to see property taxes increased; in fact quite to the contrary I have people who say they want us to show discipline and keep property taxes low,” Tory said. “To build the unfunded transit and infrastructure projects that piled up over decades of inaction, we would need a massive increase in our property taxes year after year and that is something I am simply not prepared to do. We are talking near double-digit increases in property taxes that would cost families hundreds of extra dollars a year.”

Last week City Manager Peter Wallace told Tory’s executive committee that it is “absolutely imperative” that council approve a host of new revenue tools and taxes or scrap many of its long-term capital projects.

The 13-person committee, however, decided not to move forward with many of Wallace’s recommendations, including the revival of the vehicle registration tax and an increase to the Third Party Sign Tax (TPST). The committee also opted not to pursue the legislative changes necessary for the introduction of a municipal income and sales tax.

Speaking with reporters outside the home of a family near the Weston Road and Jane Street area, Tory said he believes that his solution of introducing road tolls and taxing hotels and short-term accommodations will be the answer to the city’s long-standing revenue problems. The mayor then vowed to “fight against” any proposal to bring Toronto’s property tax rate in line with other municipalities.

It should be noted that the average-priced home in the City of Toronto ($776,684) carries a property tax bill of $5,480. That same priced home in Mississauga would cost the owner $6,790 in property taxes and in Oshawa, which has the highest property tax rates in the GTA, it would mean a bill of $12,209.

“People say that our property taxes are lower than other municipalities. I think that any fair examination of the total cost of living in Toronto versus other cities in the GTA will certainly show that Torontonians are paying their fair share,” Tory said.

The proposed budget for 2017 will be finalized at the city’s budget committee tomorrow. The budget will then be debated at city council, beginning next Tuesday.

2016 residential property tax rates in the GTA (%)

Toronto – 0.007056037

Mississauga – 0.00874348

Vaughan – 0.00815855

Oakville – 0.00827349

Oshawa – 0.01572

Pickering – 0.01266145

Whitby – 0.01294082

Burlington – 0.00822080

Richmond Hill – 0.00810898