Mayor John Tory said Thursday he will not give any consideration to a proposal to reinstate the vehicle registration tax as a way to fund investments in anti-poverty initiatives.
Tory’s comments came after representatives from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives as well as a number of social justice organizations held a press conference at city hall Wednesday to make the case that the city could generate $66 million annually by reintroducing the controversial tax.
According to a report in the Toronto Star, the representatives argued that tax could be reinstated in time for the 2016 budget and would help the city follow through on a 20-year plan to curb poverty.
Tory, however, poured cold water on the idea when asked about it following a meeting with Toronto-area Liberal MPs today.
“The answer is no, no, a thousand times no,” he told reporters at city hall. “At the end of the day we are going to successfully achieve a budget that allows us to invest in the city in anti-poverty, in transit and housing while at the same time keeping taxes low. It is possible to do that.”
The $60 per vehicle registration tax was eliminated by council shortly after then-mayor Rob Ford assumed office in 2011 and Tory told reporters on Thursday that he feels the public and council spoke “fairly loudly and fairly clearly.”
The mayor then added that he has his own plan to generate additional revenue — a previously announced plan to introduce a 2.5 per cent property tax levy that would be phased in over a five year period beginning in 2017.
“I have talked about that and I have been very open about that. Beyond that I have no other plans (to utilize new revenue tools),” he said.
The staff-proposed budget for 2016 includes $57 million in council-approved spending that is currently unfunded and on top of that it does not provide funding for another $67 million in previously announced initiatives, including earlier subway service on Sundays ($9.6 million next year) and an accelerated capital repair program for public housing buildings ($13.7 million).
Discussing the budget with reporters at city hall, Tory said it absolutely can be balanced without introducing a new tax or increasing property tax by more than the rate of inflation (about 1.3 per cent).
“It can be done and it will be done,” he said.
Unlike the federal and provincial governments, Toronto's municipal government is legally prohibitted from running a deficit.
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