Ontario and Toronto Land Transfer Tax Update

In the current market of soaring real estate values, particularly in and around the City of Toronto (Toronto being the only Ontario municipality to levy its own additional transfer tax in addition to the provincial tax), an understanding of provincial and municipal land transfer tax has never been more important. Today, the drive to collect land transfer tax has intensified, and the government bodies responsible for collecting that tax are reviewing and revising their regulations and policies to ensure no revenues are lost. This paper provides a general overview of the land transfer tax regime in Ontario and discusses some of the key areas in which tax battles are currently being won and lost. Published in Taxation for General Practitioners 2016 by the Law Society of Upper Canada.