New cuts to the fees that local councils can levy against home builders could have a major impact on property taxes in parts of the GTA, a new survey by CBC News has found, with one municipality saying property taxes could more than double.
Late last year, the provincial government passed Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, which eliminates some fees that municipalities charge to developers in exchange for the right to build certain types of homes — money that municipalities say they rely on to provide things like roads and sewers, public transit, parks and libraries.
CBC News polled all 25 municipal governments in the Greater Toronto Area Dec. 15 and 16, asking how much money they’ll lose by not collecting the development charges and how much they believe they’ll have to hike property taxes in the years ahead to make ends meet.
The bulk of those municipalities say it’s still unclear how they’ll contend with the dramatic loss of revenue.