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Making Renting Respectable

Nearly 50% of families in Toronto are renters, and we pay more property taxes than home-owners, so why are we treated like second-class citizens?

Author Topic: Toronto Taxes Apartment Buildings more than Private Residences  (Read 5749 times)

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CoffeeLover

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Toronto Taxes Apartment Buildings more than Private Residences
« on: January 10, 2022, 12:37:51 pm »
I was reading this article in the Globe and Mail:

"Why are B.C. renters subsidizing B.C. homeowners? Answer: Politics"

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-why-are-bc-renters-subsidizing-bc-homeowners-answer-politics

... in which I read: "Toronto charges a higher property tax rate on apartment buildings than houses."

and I thought, really?  But the article provides a link:

https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/property-taxes-utilities/property-tax/property-tax-rates-and-fees/
(and then click on "Property Tax Rates")

and sure enough:
"Residential" properties are only taxed by 0.611013%
"Multi-Residential" properties are only taxed by 1.093384%

That's crazy!  The article's thesis is that the problem is "politics" (meaning, no party wants to piss-off any groups or people by making things fairer for other groups), but I think that the real reason is that Renters are not Organised.  We need to join together, to speak with a unified voice, to get ourselves heard!

jeffreyjra

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Re: Toronto Taxes Apartment Buildings more than Private Residences
« Reply #1 on: May 01, 2022, 03:37:06 pm »
Hi,
Thanks for your thoughtful post.
I don't know for a fact, but I suspect the rationale for higher municipal taxes for multi-residential buildings is that there are greater costs associated with waste, water, and other services. (Those may be covered by separate charges, though, thus possibly making my suspicion void.)
More to the point of my reply is that I wholeheartedly agree renters are not organized and are therefore not sufficiently heard / represented. And I agree that in Toronto there is a large proportion of the population that does rent and we should, as individuals and as a collective, ensure our concerns are addressed.
The Writ for the 43rd Provincial Election drops on Wednesday, people. Ensure you vote. Ensure you vote with renters rights and the current dire situation we face in mind. I'm not going to promote or denigrate any party or candidate, but any thinking person can figure out what's traditionally and historically not been working out for us!
Jeff

CoffeeLover

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Re: Toronto Taxes Apartment Buildings more than Private Residences
« Reply #2 on: May 01, 2022, 04:31:37 pm »
in Toronto there is a large proportion of the population that does rent and we should...

Acccording to the City of Toronto, 47% of households rent:
https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2018/td/bgrd/backgroundfile-112710.pdf

That's a lot of us, and it's definitely enough to make a difference in an election.

By the way, the Ontario NDP Party has promised to bring back proper rent control (like we had before Mike Harris took it away).  Here's a link:
https://storeys.com/ontario-ndp-platform-rent-control/

Right now new apartments have no rent control whatsoever, and older apartments have "vacancy de-control", meaning that the landlord can charge whatever they want to new tenants (so there is a HUGE incentive for landlords to get current tenants to move out so they can jack-up the rents).  Proper rent control is definitely needed to keep the rental market affordable and to disincentivise evictions by greedy landlords.

Creepella

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Re: Toronto Taxes Apartment Buildings more than Private Residences
« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2022, 11:00:33 am »
I'm sure municipal politicians justify taxing apartment buildings more than private residences by saying that apartment buildings use up more municipal resources (water, sewers etc) than single family homes. I wonder how much tax private condo owners and corporations are charged? Probably less than rental apartment buildings. If you think about it, a single family 3 bedroom house uses a lot more resources than a single family 3 bedroom apartment. Anything purchased in bulk is cheaper, even garbage collection. The city doesn't have to send a garbage truck to stop at each apartment in a highrise. Renters are literally forced to subsidize the wealthy lifestyles of homeowners.

These days politicians treat people a certain way based on their income and ability to afford "middle class" things. Their actions have nothing to do with democracy or justice. It's all about haves and have nots. They don't care that nearly half of Ontarians are renters. They don't care who we vote for because we don't matter to them. That's why you never see election ads targeting renters. When you operate from the top of an ivory tower, the little peasants at the bottom are beneath your notice.

Renters are at the bottom of this feudal class system because we can't afford the shiny things that politicians and their cronies can afford. They actively hate the peasantry and blame us for our situation. That's why they view the current housing crisis as only affecting people who can afford single family detached homes and two cars in the driveway. That's why they fill up the few subsidized homes with gangsters and refuse to kick them out while families are crammed into one bedroom and bachelor apartments. That's why Dough Ford's mission in life is to trample on tenants and the poor and make us suffer. To Ford, tenants are lowly cash cows to be milked dry as punishment for not being able to afford the shiny things. His municipal counterparts share his attitude. So the extra tax we are charged is thrown at wealthy landlords and developers so they can build more multimillion dollar mansions for the rich, instead of making them build affordable housing for those who are actually suffering from the housing crisis.

 

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