Polls Show 49 Percent Approval Rating for Mayor Ford and Overwhelming Support for Land Transfer Tax Repeal
Posted by: Toronto Real Estate Admin / Category: Toronto Realtor
Polls Show 49 Percent Approval Rating for Mayor Ford and Overwhelming Support for Land Transfer Tax Repeal
TORONTO,
June 15, 2012 – With new polls showing the highest published public
approval rating for Mayor Rob Ford, this year, and overwhelming support for
repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax, REALTORS® are indicating that they
believe that Mayor Ford is accurately representing the public’s views with
regard to the repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.
“REALTORS® commend Mayor
Ford for clearly articulating his commitment to repeal the Toronto Land
Transfer Tax and for not wavering from this promise. It is clear that the vast majority of the
public agrees with his views on this issue. We all want to build a great City, but the public understands that the
Land Transfer Tax is stopping Toronto from reaching its full potential,” said
Richard Silver, President of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).
A recent poll conducted by Ipsos Reid, from June 1 to June
6, 2012, found that 49%, of Torontonians approve of the overall performance of
Mayor Rob Ford. This is the highest published approval rating for Mayor Rob
Ford in recent months.
TREB recently launched a new website, www.LetsGetThisRightToronto.ca,
to help the public have their say with their City Councillor and to learn more
about the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.
“Mayor Ford has been
consistent in his commitment to repeal the Toronto Land Transfer Tax and the
public’s support of this position has been consistent also,” said Von Palmer,
TREB’s Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer.
Two separate polls
recently showed overwhelming public support for repeal of the Toronto Land
Transfer Tax:
·
A poll conducted by Ipsos Reid, from April 30 to May 7,
2012 found that 66% of Torontonians support the Mayor’s commitment to repeal
the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.
·
A massive ward-by-ward poll of almost 9,500 Toronto residents,
conducted by Ekos Research in May 2012, found that in 36 of 44 City wards, at
least half of residents support repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax. Even in most wards represented by councillors
who have publicly opposed repeal of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax, a majority
of residents support the repeal of this tax. Detailed ward-by-ward results of the poll, conducted by Ekos Research,
are provided in the attached tables and maps (Map 1) (Map 2) (Table
1) (Table 2).
“TREB REALTORS® work with clients in Toronto and across the
GTA and we are seeing some concerning market trends and changes in buyer
behaviour, which we believe are being influenced by the Toronto Land Transfer
Tax. This will affect the long-term
growth of the City of Toronto. The GTA
is one economic region, so we need to think about fair and long-term solutions
that advance the interests of all of us,” said Silver.
TREB’s concerns about the impact of the tax on the City’s
long-term growth are substantiated by the Ipsos Reid poll, which found that 25
percent of Torontonians expecting to move in the next two years are planning to
leave Toronto for the 905 regions. In contrast, only three percent of 905
residents expecting to move in the next two years are planning to come to
Toronto. Looking at the cause of this
trend, the poll found important links to the Toronto Land Transfer Tax, with
75% of people in Toronto and the 905 regions who are expecting to move in the
next two years saying that they are more likely to move outside of Toronto
specifically because of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.
“The Toronto Land Transfer Tax is holding our City
back. Together, we’re building a great
City, but we need to get this right. The
Toronto Land Transfer Tax is no way to build a great City. It makes our City
less affordable, less fair, and less competitive,” said Palmer. “We understand
the importance of quality services to building a great city, but we believe
that those services should be funded fairly and reliably.”
The poll conducted by
Ipsos Reid, from June 1 to June 6, 2012 was an on-line survey of of 506
residents in Toronto and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percentage points, 19
times out of 20.
The poll conducted by
Ipsos Reid, from April 30 to May 7, 2012, was an on-line survey of 1,257
adults, of which 653 live in the City of Toronto, and 604 live in the
surrounding 905 region, with a margin of error of +/-2.8 percentage points, 19
times out of 20. Questions were posed to
only Toronto residents, or only 905 region residents, or both, as appropriate,
depending on the question.
The poll conducted by
Ekos Research Associates, in May 2012, was an Interactive Voice Response
survey of 9,459 residents of Toronto, divided among the City’s 44 municipal
wards.
For information about Buyer Representation Agreements
(BRA) visit www.BRAFirst.ca
For Media/Public Inquiries: Mary Gallagher, Senior
Manager Media Relations.
Toronto
Real Estate Board 1400 Don Mills Road Toronto, ON M3B 3N1, Office: (416)
443-8158, Email:maryg@trebnet.com
Greater Toronto REALTORS are passionate about their work.
They adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and share a state-of-the-art Multiple
Listing Service. Serving over 34,000 Members in the Greater Toronto Area,
the Toronto Real Estate Board is Canadas largest real estate board. Greater
Toronto Area open house listings are available on www.TorontoRealEstateBoard.com
Article source: http://www.torontorealestateboard.com/market_news/release_market_updates/news2012/nr_treb_LTT_campaign_poll_mayor_0612.htm
Tags: Toronto Realtor