The Mississauga Real estate Board will appear before city councillors on Monday in an attempt to head off the concept of the land transfer tax that Mayor Hazel McCallion is pushing.
MREB President Fawzi Matter and State Relations Chair Linda Pinnizzotto will outline the local real estate industry's objections to the tax, which they are saying would add significantly to the financial millstone of buying a property and put a damper on the local economy.
With ratepayers facing a proposed 7.8 percent property tax increase, McCallion has been lobbying her colleagues to support a land transfer tax, similar to one already in effect in Toronto. That could add $74 million yearly to City coffers.
A land transfer tax is a one time fee that is charged when property, including land and buildings, is transferred from one owner to another.
The MREB claims arrival of the tax could applied the brakes on a local home market that has already fell during a prolonged recession. Generally the amount is a proportion of the purchase price and is paid by the patron.
The board has started an internet campaign to mount opposition to such a tax.
"A Land Transfer Tax will moisten Mississauga home sales," the MREB says in a message to members.
A recent study concluded that Toronto home sales dropped Sixteen percent as a result of the tax there.
It "would mean lost roles for Mississauga's economy because of reduced consumer expenditure on restorations, movers, furnishings, etc.," the board claims.
The MREB will present its deputation to councillors at budget dialogues that resume Monday at 1 p.m.
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