REALTORS® Raise Concerns Over Potential Proposals to Make First Time Home Buyers Pay More Toronto Home Buying Tax
Posted by: Toronto Real Estate Admin / Category: Toronto Realtor
REALTORS Raise
Concerns Over Potential Proposals to Make First Time Home Buyers Pay More Toronto
Home Buying Tax
TORONTO, December 11, 2013 — The Toronto Real
Estate Board(TREB) is sounding the alarm over a
potential proposal that would see first-time home buyers in Toronto paying more
Toronto Home Buying Tax (Land Transfer Tax).TREB is responding to published comments indicating that the City’s
Budget Committee may consider a proposal to eliminate the Toronto Home Buying
Tax on the first $200,000 value of a property, for all home buyers, but to also
eliminate the current rebate that relieves first-time home buyers from paying
Home Buying Tax on the first $400,000 value of a property. This potential proposal, if implemented,
would result in first-time home buyers paying more home buying tax than what
they currently pay.
“REALTORS are encouraged that the City’s
Budget Chief and Budget Committee are actively considering options to provide
relief, to home buyers, from the Home Buying Tax; however, we believe strongly
that all Toronto home buyers deserve relief from this hurtful tax, including
first-time home buyers,” said Dianne Usher, TREB President.
In a
letter to the City’s Budget Committee, TREB pointed out that many
first time home buyers are already being forced to pay thousands of
dollars in Home Buying Tax because the first-time buyer rebate has not kept
pace with inflation. Currently, this
rebate caps out on a $400,000 property, but the current average price of a home
in Toronto is approximately $570,000, and rising. As a
result, approximately 40 percent of first-time buyers pay some Home Buying Tax
to City Hall, according to City staff reports.
“Even
first-time home buyers purchasing BELOW average-priced properties are being
forced to pay thousands of dollars in Toronto Home Buying tax. Any proposal to eliminate the first-time
buyer rebate would make this situation worse. First-time home buyers deserve more
relief, not less,” said Von Palmer, TREB’s Chief Government and Public Affairs Officer.
“We have pointed out many times that the Home
Buying Tax hurts people when they can least afford it. First-time home buyers
are a perfect example of this. Many
first-time home buyers struggle to save for a down payment for that first home
they are dreaming of. Every penny counts to them, and the Home Buying Tax makes
that dream more difficult to achieve,” said Usher.
Media Inquiries:
Mary Gallagher, Senior Manager Public Affairs
(416) 443-8158 maryg@trebnet.com
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
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Article source: http://www.torontorealestateboard.com/market_news/release_market_updates/news2013/nr_homeBuyer_proposal_1213.htm
Tags: Toronto Realtor