A massive plan to expand Toronto transit is meeting as much praise as criticism, but two experts say that raising property taxes to cover the cost of the plan is a solid idea whose time has come.
The recently introduced OneCity transit plan for the City of Toronto is being advocated for by TTC chair Karen Stintz and vice chair Glenn De Baeremaeker, who appealed to a large majority of Toronto residents with their plan, but were rejected by the province and the mayor.
Jim Mars, an urban transportation expert and professor at Ryerson University, says he firmly supports the idea of taxing property owners.
“Property taxes for residential owners in the city of Toronto are too low,” he says.
Mars says a transit plan is of benefit to transit users and drivers alike, so a general increase in taxes for a successful transit system is a reasonable price to pay.
Professor David Amborski, a municipal finance and land use specialist at Ryerson, agrees with Mars.
“I think there’s room for property tax increases ... particularly when you’re going to use it for something that has such broad benefits such as improved transit,” he says.
Toronto residents also think that property taxes are a possible option for revenue. An Angus Reid poll done for the Star showed that 80 percent of the 800 Torontonians surveyed agree with the OneCity plan.
