The Land Transfer Tax is one of those interesting pains in the arse in Ontario. It bites you when you are thinking about buying a house or property. Luckily when I bought my first house, I didn’t have to pay the land transfer tax. I used an Ontario Home Owner Savings Plan (along since gone program). The main feature (for 1st home buyers only) was not having to pay the Land Transfer Tax. This forgiving of the Land Transfer Tax on first homes has been replaced by the Land Transfer Tax Refund for First-time Homebuyers (please read that carefully).
Well in Toronto, not only do you pay the Ontario Land Transfer Tax, you also pay the Toronto land transfer tax, so basically you pay it twice.
This all said… I’m in favour of it. The money will have to come from some source of taxation, and generally I prefer an optional consumption tax over a mandatory income tax.
THAT is what Gail Vaz-Oxlade was talking about then. She commented about the Average Land Xfer tax in Toronto being $30K and I couldn’t figure it out, NOW I get it!
Oh and HOLY CRAP!!!! I’d rather have no taxes, but I also am the old guy who shouts and waves his fist at the kids on my front lawn, take no notice of the old crazy guy….