Every year, something happens to confirm that we made the right choice seven years ago not to buy a home in Toronto. Whether it was the garbage strike a few years back where the entire city had no garbage pickup and intersections were littered wtih hundreds of rotting garbage bags in the middle of the summer, whether it was the TTC (public transit) shortages / stoppages or strikes (if I lived in Toronto, I would have to take public transit, and you know my opinion on public transit already, as seen in a previous blog entry), the ridiculous left-wing socialist mayor that is currently in office, the ridiculous amounts of "tolerance" events that goes on in the city and the eroding of traditional family events, the constant contruction on roads which never seen to be fixed, the countless road closures (including more than regular closures of major parkway/arteries into and out of the city), not to mention the amount of crime that goes on in the city - well, all this has just re-affirmed to me that it's much better to live in the suberbs, even though the 'burbs have their own share of problems, albeit significantly fewer than Toronto.
The latest item which has simply re-affirmed my gladness that we never decided to live in Toronto is the ridiculous new taxes that David Miller, Toronto's socialist mayor has decided to impose. On the forefront are two new, very controversial taxes, one being an increased land transfer tax, and the other being an additional drivers' licence renewal tax of 60 bucks on top of the provincially set $74.50 (though humourously I don't think they consulted the province since they refuse to help Toronto collect the extra 60 bucks). Also planned was an additional tax on alcohol, but that's been pulled for now. I also read that they had proposed a tax on cigarettes (good!) and amusement parks (???).
The mayor and his supporters claim these taxes are supposed to help offset a budget shortfall (I think whenever this happens in politics, it's an indication that the government is not working within their means or that they are not aggressively looking at cuts - how governments get themselves in debt, I will never understand) - anyway, I would take this rationalization seriously if it weren't for the fact that Toronto council recently voted themselves a pay raise. And that the city has put really dumb-ass things in their budget, like commissioning something like $300,000 - $400,000 to do a manual count of how many trees there are in Toronto. I'm not kidding here.
I'm no economist, but I've always believed heavier taxes drive people away from spending (resulting in less taxes collected through sales) and so your economy suffers as a result. Increased taxes discourage spending and companies will be forced to let go of staff since their sales will drop, reducing in less jobs and higher unemployment.
Now, as a suberbanite, this news makes me chuckle, but in a way, it's not bad for me. People who were planning to buy houses in Toronto will likely think twice, and that will make our suberbian regions much more attractive, thus driving up our housing prices (which are very high to begin with, but as a guy who has no plans to sell his house anytime soon, I'm basking in the increased investment value in my home as it is, and its certain continual rise in value).
The additional driver's licence renewal tax is ridiculous at best. What this will do is simply get people to register their vehicles outside of Toronto. Who is going to go to two places to renew their drivers' licence, anyway? Sheesh...
The thing is, this is not a big city thing. Others large cities in Canada have their budgets in order and in fact cities like Calgary have a nice surplus to work with (OK, they're in oil country, but...). Ultimately, this is not about having more money; rather, Toronto elected (and re-elected) a mayor whose philosophy is spend and tax, so what do you expect? I suspect that had Jane Pitfield been elected (and while I was not eligible to vote in last year's municipal elections, as I am not a resident of Toronto, I still supported Jane Pitfield and financially contributed to her campaign), things would be much different. Now I realize that Toronto's mayor has to deal with a not-too-swift Ontario Premier to get money for the city, but the previous mayor, Mel Lastman, as controversial as he was, was able to get money for the city much more successfully than this guy. I am hoping that my Torontonian friends who are fed up with this would not take it lying down and consider moving into the land of the 905 region where at least many towns and cities are run much more reponsibly. I look to see you there!
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