Ontarians Feel Municipal Governments Need to Find Savings and Control Spending Before Being Given New Tax Powers

Only one-third of Ontarians believe municipalities should have greater tax powers

TORONTO, ON – Ontarians believe that their municipal governments could be much more efficient with use of their funding, with about 7-in-10 agreeing that a lot more could be done to find savings and control spending.

According to new research from Navigator and commissioned by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA), Ontarians expect more from their municipal governments, citing high property taxes and housing prices as areas of utmost concern.

Only one-third of Ontarians feel municipalities should have greater tax powers, with just 1-in-3 home owners believing that the annual property tax increases in their community have been fair and reasonable.

“In the past, some municipalities have asked for the ability to implement a municipal land transfer tax upon home purchases, or a new sales tax. Municipal governments have a responsibility to their residents and should first and foremost be looking to make better use of their resources before deciding implement new taxes,” said Tim Hudak, CEO of OREA. “Burdensome new taxes like the unfair MLTT only add to the existing red tape and regulation standing between young families and the Canadian Dream of home ownership.”

The report also found that certain local services are viewed as operating more efficiently than others. A majority of Ontarians believe that their local firefighting, garbage collection/waste disposal, and police services make efficient use of their funding, while only 4-in-10 believed local school boards and municipal roads were efficient.

The report, Public Perceptions Regarding Municipal Government Programs, surveyed adult residents of Ontario 18 years of age and older about the efficiency of their municipal government.

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Methodology

Navigator conducted an online survey among adult residents of Ontario, 18 years of age or older, between June 28 to July 3, 2019. The margin of error for a strict probability sample for a sample of 800 would be 3.46 per cent, 19 times out of 20.