A prudent plan to make sorely needed investments, or an overzealous squeeze on Torontonians’ wallets?
Mayor Olivia Chow says Toronto needs a 6.9 per cent residential property tax hike to support this year’s multibillion-dollar proposed budget, allowing what she frames as needed investments into libraries, policing, aging transit infrastructure and public housing repairs, among items on an expansive to-do list.
Property taxes are one of the city’s main revenue sources — and each year, the rate becomes a flashpoint in budget talks, given the cost is borne directly by Toronto homeowners and indirectly by tenants as part of their rent bills.