Anthony Furey: Olivia Chow is plotting anew to empty your pockets with a sales tax

Olivia Chow, Mayor of Toronto speaks onstage at the premiere of "Harbin" during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall on September 08, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario. Photo by Cindy Ord /Getty Images

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The City of Toronto is once again quietly pushing the idea of a municipal sales tax in advance of next spring’s budget. Anyone who doesn’t want to see an extra tax layered on top of every purchase they make within the city limits needs to make their voices heard now, before this plan is put into further motion.

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It wasn’t long after Olivia Chow was first elected Mayor in 2023 that staff floated the idea of adding a third layer of consumer taxation onto residents. A staff report that summer mused on the amount of money that could be raised by such a tax. It went on to recommend that the city engage in conversations with the province, which needs to approve such tax-granting powers. The province at the time declined to comment on how they’d respond to such a request.

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Thankfully, the plan fizzled away. But now it’s come back in the form of a budget consultation questionnaire that’s being sent out to residents to try and get them on side and advocating for the idea.

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The public questionnaire asks “which of the following areas do you think the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada should partner or collaborate with the City on to provide greater support for Toronto residents.” It then lists “allowing a Municipal Sales Tax for goods and services purchased in Toronto” as one of the options.

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The very next question then asks “what actions would you be willing to take, on your own or with your neighbours, to encourage the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada to work more closely with the City and better support Toronto residents?”

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The options include meeting with politicians, and “ask friends to also contact their MPP and MP” and engage in petition campaigns. It then goes on to offer “workshops and training” for anyone who wants to become a pro-tax activist on behalf of the City.

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That’s quite the bait and switch — what is first pitched as a neutral survey for your thoughts on the budget is in fact packed with loaded questions that try to enlist you in their activism.

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(I had to use the ‘other’ box to share my views, as every option throughout the survey funnelled you into tax-and-spend answers.)

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Of all the potential “revenue tools” that have been floated by the city and mayor, a municipal sales tax is one of the worst ideas. That’s because it’s a harmful and regressive tax that will hit low-income persons the most. It’s also unavoidable, hitting practically everyone’s daily expenses.

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This next budget will be Olivia Chow’s last before next year’s fall municipal election. Does she really want to push for a new tax just before she runs for re-election?

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The city hasn’t engaged in any meaningful efforts over the past few years to better manage costs.

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For example, it was only this week that the city implemented a hiring freeze on non-essential workers. And they are doing it as an emergency measure. But it could have been done at the beginning of this mayoral tenure to give department chiefs the opportunity to pause their headcounts and reset staffing levels, which is something I campaigned on doing in the last mayoral election.