"To build a city we deserve, after years of debate, we need to face facts. Including the fact that time and time again the city has been asked to step up and fund things that are a responsibility of other levels of government," she said. Chow said Toronto taxpayers are covering the costs of programs and initiatives that should fall to the province or federal government. Speaking at a news conference later Thursday, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow noted that even if the city adopts all of the various possible revenue tools outlined by staff in the report, they still would not generate enough money to make up for projected budget shortfalls in the long-term. Toronto could see cuts 'rapidly happen' without more money from feds, province: McKelvie.Years of 'austerity budgets' keeping Toronto in state of disrepair, critics say."This is not just because Toronto is Canada's economic engine and will see a ripple effect from reduced investments, job losses and reduced income taxes, but because the city will not be equipped to deliver goals on behalf of other orders of government such as housing priorities, transit expansion, refugee response or climate action," it adds. "There will be devastating consequences for the City of Toronto and the greater region and country without serious attention given to address the city's financial challenges," the report says, noting the region accounts for 20 per cent of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) and 53 per cent of Ontario's GDP. The document paints a dire picture of the city's future without significant new revenue tools and additional assistance from the province and Ottawa as it tries to dig out from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The recommendation to pursue a one per cent sales tax applied to existing HST/GST was one of the key items included in a long-awaited staff report released Thursday. Toronto is proposing a municipal sales tax as part of a slew of new measures aimed at easing a projected $46.5 billion in budget pressures over the next decade, an "unprecedented financial crisis" that if left unaddressed threatens the fiscal foundations of the city.
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