revenue / en Planning and Budget Office /node/8691 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Planning and Budget Office</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-01-07T15:47:18-05:00" title="Thursday, January 7, 2016 - 15:47" class="datetime">Thu, 01/07/2016 - 15:47</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-url field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">URL</div> <div class="field__item">https://planningandbudget.utoronto.ca</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above clearfix"> <h3 class="field__label">Tags</h3> <ul class="links field__items"> <li><a href="/news/tags/budget" hreflang="en">Budget</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/revenue" hreflang="en">revenue</a></li> <li><a href="/news/tags/enrolment" hreflang="en">enrolment</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-campus field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Campus</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6953" hreflang="en">St. George</a></div> </div> Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:47:18 +0000 sgupta 8691 at U of T experts on why Tory's tax plan is not enough /news/u-t-experts-why-torys-tax-plan-not-enough <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T experts on why Tory's tax plan is not enough</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-12-04T11:32:38-05:00" title="Friday, December 4, 2015 - 11:32" class="datetime">Fri, 12/04/2015 - 11:32</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">“We have dramatic needs for infrastructure investment,” Matti Siemiatycki says (photo by Ashton Pal via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alan-christie" hreflang="en">Alan Christie</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Alan Christie</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ttc" hreflang="en">TTC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/transit" hreflang="en">Transit</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/taxes" hreflang="en">Taxes</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/revenue" hreflang="en">revenue</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">It's a good start but more revenue is required for infrastructure, researchers say</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Toronto Mayor <strong>John Tory</strong>’s plan to introduce a property tax dedicated to public transit and social housing infrastructure is a good start, ؿζSM experts say&nbsp;–&nbsp;but just a start.</p> <p>Tory announced on Nov. 2 that he will be seeking an annual “city building” tax of 0.5 per cent added to property tax bills, for transit and housing. It would start in 2017 and add about $13 to the average property tax bill of $2,654.50.</p> <p><strong>Enid Slack</strong>, director of the Institute on Municipal Finance and Government at U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs and one of Canada’s foremost experts in municipal finance, said Tory’s plan “shows that the city recognizes it has a revenue problem,” not a spending problem.</p> <p>The Institute did a study before the last municipal election in 2014 on the fiscal health of problems of Toronto that showed it has not been increasing property taxes very rapidly, and has huge infrastructure needs.</p> <p>“Increasing the property tax is a good start,” Slack said, “but it may not be enough. It’s not a lot of money coming in, so I think they may still have to think about other things to do, perhaps increasing borrowing.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Dedicating the tax increase to transit and infrastructure for housing “makes it a bit more palatable for taxpayers,” she said, noting that such infrastructure lasts for 30 or 40 years and citizens can reap the benefits at the same time the city is paying back loans over the same period.</p> <p><strong>Matti Siemiatycki</strong>, an associate professor of geography who focuses on municipal infrastructure and transit, echoed Slack’s views.&nbsp;</p> <p>Siemiatycki pointed to a report from city manager Peter Wallace this week that City Council has planned $23 billion in capital projects without identifying any sources of funding. &nbsp;</p> <p>“We have dramatic needs for infrastructure investment,” Siemiatycki said.</p> <p>Tory’s plan “is the beginning of a recognition that we have to come up with ways to pay for all of this. If you want to have it, you have to pay for it,” Siematycki said, suggesting&nbsp;a “variety of other” taxes could be needed.</p> <p>Borrowing for infrastructure projects is a good thing, he said, as long as the right projects are chosen. They should be ones that “drive the economic engine and create jobs.”</p> <p>The report released by the institute last year made three basic points: Toronto’s residential property tax is relatively low compared to other cities and growing slowly, and actually declining in real terms; the city can’t manage its infrastructure deficit without new revenue tools and Toronto’s debt load “is modest and manageable for a growing city.”</p> <p>Slack said that Tory’s plan shows the city is starting to address the problems outlined in the report.</p> <p>(<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ashtonpal/10938717866/">See the original of the photo above at Flickr</a>)</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-12-04-tory-bus.jpg</div> </div> Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:32:38 +0000 sgupta 7500 at