Ontario mayors want higher HST rate to help pay for growing infrastructure costs

Ontario Mayors and municipal leaders are asking the Ontario Government to step up and help pay a greater share of local infrastructure and services.

The request was made at this year’s annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario meeting happening in Ottawa this week.

Municipal leaders are asking the for a one per cent tax increase to the provinces HST to help pay for local infrastructure and services.

Without help from the province Mayors say there will be an annual $4.9 Billion shortfall for the next ten years.

With the additional one per cent from the province they could cut that deficit in half.

The Mayor’s say they fear property tax will double over the next decade if they don’t receive any help.

According to the AMO only 9 cents out of every dollar we pay in taxes comes back to the municipality.

Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky says despite this, cities are asked to do a lot with limited resources,

“if you ask the average home owner what you get for you taxes they’ll say arena recreation centres, roads and pipes and all those are all at the municipal level, the 91 per cent of our other taxes leaves the city.” Said Jaworsky.

But not every Mayor agrees, “I agree that we need more revenue, but I don’t agree that we should raise the HST one percent. I believe that both the federal and federal government should be donating the one percent from the HST that they are already collecting. These two upper levels of government are taking billions of dollars out of the Region of Waterloo every year in every form of tax from income tax, to land transfer tax to taxes on alcohol and cigarettes etc. They can afford a one percent equivalent of HST to support cities and this would result in lower property taxes.” said Mayor Doug Craig

Premier Kathleen Wynne is addressing the AMO today.