Toronto Mayor Proposes New Property Taxes to Fund Transit and Housing

Jennifer Pagliaro reports that Toronto Mayor John Tory announced this week a plan "to increase the city building fund, a special levy on property taxes dedicated to transit and housing projects, by eight per cent over the next six years."

"It is the most significant financial move of his mayoralty, five years on, as he comes face-to-face with budget cuts by the province, a difficult 2020 budget process and massive backlogs in TTC and Toronto Community Housing repairs," adds Pagliaro.

According to the article, the proposal has strong support from both critics and supporters of the mayor, and is likely to have strong support in the Toronto City Council.

Pagliaro provides news coverage of the proposal, but The Star's editorial board chimed in quickly on the issue as well, expressing relief that the mayor is acting on a need that has been obvious in the city for years.