CFP: A new year in Ontario always comes with a few predictable staples; fireworks, champagne, a countdown to midnight, and petty increases to taxes and regulatory fees by the provincial government.
We’re not talking about big picture changes to income taxes. There is no significant change there. A two-child, single-income family earning $60,000 per year will have no change to their income taxes.
Cost of living has increased dramatically over the last 10 years
Rather, it’s a death by a thousand cuts of fee increases in just about every area of life. As surely as the ball drops in Times Square on December 31, these fees climb up each January 1.
For example, licence plate fees have increased from $25 to $27, camping fees are up $0.25 for this year, and hunting and fishing license fees are increasing by anywhere from 2.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent.
These are small increases taken individually, but the nickel and diming of taxpayers is especially stinging in a province like Ontario, where the cost of living has increased dramatically over the last 10 years. Consider increases to the cost of electricity and housing.
With respect to housing, real estate development fees that are automatically escalated each year on January 1 are part of the problem. With the new year has come automatic increases to the Building Code Commission application fee, the Building Materials Evaluation Commission application fee, the Line Fences Act appeal fee and the Minister’s Ruling application fee. Registration and renewal fees for building officials, independent designers, sewage system installers, design firms, and Registered Code Agencies are all automatically escalated each year as well.
When the average price of a detached home in Toronto hitting $1.4 million, politicians should consider how the plethora regulatory fees on real estate development impact the cost of housing. Consumers are largely unaware of these costs, but they ultimately end up paying for them as part of the final price of the home. read more
Oh, MJA, don’t get me started. My husband is about to retire from being an owner operator of a tractor and dump trailer(s). Here in good old Illinois his plate fee jumped from around $1600 to $3000 in a year, several years ago. We pay $1.50 for a toll at O’Hare and he pays $5.50 (varies and goes up depending on the location). It goes on with the rules and regulations that he had to comply with in these past few years. Anyone who believes there is no inflation is delusional. It’s all these fees that folks don’t know about affect them at every turn. Why is it that a 10.5 oz. can of soup costs more than the 12 oz.? That’s inflation.
Our government decided to drop housing, food and energy from our inflation rate calculation quite a while back. Did wonders for the final figure. Maybe Canada should take a hint.