Toronto temporarily shelves commercial parking tax

A plan to have the City of Toronto raise money through the use of a commercial parking levy has been put on hold.

A levy on commercial parking within the city is one of several revenue tools being considered to help deal with future budget deficits.

Previous estimates put revenue from a commercial parking levy at between $100- and $108 million a year, which the report says could be used to sustain critical municipal services, including transit.

Based on a report presented to the Executive Committee back last February, a large shopping centre in downtown Toronto – such as the Eaton Centre – could end up paying $863,000 a year while in the suburbs, a similar shopping centre could face a levy of $431,000.

A staff report presented to Mayor Olivia Chow’s Executive Committee last month says in order to successfully implement such a program, it needs the “critical” involvement of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). However, the crown corporation says it needs approval from its Board and “engagement with the appropriate provincial government officials” before committing to the project.

“Should the City receive confirmation from MPAC and the provincial government that they will support introduction of a commercial parking levy, staff will report back to City Council with a comprehensive implementation plan,” states the report.

A motion put forth by Coun. Josh Matlow to move forward with a City-run administration of a parking levy was defeated.

City staff say they are also continuing to press the provincial government for access to “permanent sustainable funding sources” such as a portion of the sales tax to help the city deal with its ongoing budget constraints.

“While staff will continue to discuss the implementation of a commercial parking levy with MPAC, ultimately, they hope to also secure access to greater revenue tools that reflect Toronto’s contributions to the economy.”

While transit advocacy groups and environmental groups applaud the implementation of a commercial parking levy, the Toronto Region Board of Trade says the cost of any levy would be passed on to tenants of the building and then onto customers and employees and it would make it harder to attract business to the city.