What is a municipality to do when property taxes aren’t enough to cover ever-growing infrastructure needs? Increasing property taxes is one, albeit unpopular and likely unsustainable, option. But the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) thinks it has a better solution: hike the HST by one per cent and give those extra funds to Ontario’s municipalities.
AMO Senior Advisor, Matthew Wilson, and Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith, who is also on the AMO’s Board of Directors, were before Huntsville’s General Committee on December 19 to explain the organization’s idea.
“A one per cent municipal sales tax would help fund critical local services like roads, bridges and transit; it would help to reduce the upward pressure on property tax bills; and it would diversify how we fund local communities,” said Wilson, noting that the gap between what Ontario municipalities need to fund and how much they receive amounts to $4.9 billion. Huntsville has a projected 10-year infrastructure need of $62 million, primarily for roads.
To gauge public opinion on the idea, AMO hired pollster Nik Nanos to conduct three separate polls of 1,000 people each over the span of a year and a half. The last poll, conducted in June, showed a 73 per cent approval rate for the HST increase, provided it goes to municipalities for the purpose of fixing infrastructure, said Wilson.
Councillor Nancy Alcock questioned whether the move might give the province an opportunity to pull back some of the funding it provides to municipalities, but Smith said that while it’s possible, it would be presented as a solution to a problem that the provincial government is well aware of. He likened it to the federal gas tax, which is collected and then distributed based on an allocation formula.
Based on the AMO formula, Huntsville would receive $2,050,320 annually, second highest among Muskoka’s municipalities. The remaining funds in Muskoka would be distributed as follows: Muskoka Lakes $2,055,762, Georgian Bay $1,188,769, Bracebridge $1,819,044, Gravenhurst $1,739,750, and Lake of Bays $950,938. (See the full provincial allocation list here.)
Despite the return, Councillor Det Schumacher noted that even a one per cent increase could be onerous for some businesses and individuals.
“I think we all realize how many pressures are on the taxpayer. They aren’t asked to pay for a lot, they are asked to pay for everything,” replied Smith, noting that the other option, an increase in property tax, simply isn’t sustainable for most people. “A property tax has no regard for your ability to pay, it only has regard for the value of your property (and) we know that there are a lot of people in our community who struggle to pay their property tax today.” He added that the lowest income Ontarians who already qualify for rebates would continue to qualify for them.
Mayor Scott Aitchison said he was intrigued by what the proposed increase might generate for the Town of Huntsville. “Fundamentally, as it relates to tax policy, taxing consumption is a better approach than taxing net worth.”
A timeline for possible implementation is unknown, said Wilson in response to a question by Deputy Mayor Karin Terziano. “As (AMO president) Lynn Dollin has said, this is a marathon not a sprint. I think highlighting municipal infrastructure challenges…is our immediate priority. The more pressure we can all put on the provincial government the better… we have made progress and we are in this for the long haul.”
Council passed a resolution stating that it “supports AMO in its efforts to secure new sources of revenue such as receipt of a portion of HST revenue and/or other sustainable alternative revenues to help fund critical municipal services.”
Read more about the AMO’s Local Share initiative at localshare.ca.
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The working class and most seniors can’t afford more tax whether it be hst or property tax. More and more taxes! Try just spending on the “must haves” and cut some of the “we can live without”. That’s what we have to do if we can’t afford everything we would like. Go without something. Ontario’s taxes are bankrupting people. I hear more and more people talk about moving further north. They just can’t afford to live here.