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Mississauga News - letter - Oct. 15/2000 Tax debate Dear Editor: In The Mississauga News Aug. 18 article, "More To Say About The Moose", Mayor McCallion is quoted as saying, "I can't blame the (Toronto statue) moose for wanting to move to Mississauga ... after all, we have lower taxes (in Mississauga)." Mississauga's residential property taxes are much higher than those in Toronto, although our business taxes are lower. In fact, our residential property taxes are more than 15 per cent higher than equally assessed properties in Toronto. The amount of a residential property tax bill is calculated by multiplying the Residential Tax Rate by the Assessed Value of the property (the amount of money for which the property would most likely sell). The Residential Tax Rate for the City of Toronto is 1.213702 per cent. The Residential Tax Rate for the City of Mississauga is 1.400415 per cent. Calculating the percentage difference between these two rates shows that Toronto's Residential Tax Rate would have to be increased 15.38 per cent to equal Mississauga's Residential Tax Rate. Calculating the percentage difference between these two rates shows that Toronto's Residential Tax Rate would have to be increased 15.38 per cent to equal Mississauga's Residential Tax Rate. A residential property located in the City of Toronto and assessed at $250,000 pays $3,034.26 in property tax year (1.213702 per cent multiplied by 250,000). A residential property located in the City of Mississauga and assessed at $250,000 pays $3,501.04 in property tax per year (1,400415 per cent multiplied by $250,000). The property in Mississauga pays $466.79 more per year than the property, in Toronto. The higher the assessed value, the greater this difference becomes.
A property located in Mississauga and $500,000 pays $933.57 more per year a similarly assessed property in Toronto. Endless arguments and comparisons of property values and the benefits of living in Mississauga or Toronto can be made; however, it is obvious that when comparing properties of equal value, Mississauga's residential property taxes axe more than 15 per cent higher than those in Toronto. Andrew Ganguly |