Written by Jane C. Helmstadter and Craig R. R. Garbe

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 transfer tax in addition to the provincial tax), an understanding of provincial and municipal land transfer tax (LTT) has never been more important. Today, the drive to collect LTT has intensified, and the government bodies responsible for collecting that tax are routinely reviewing and revising their regulations and policies to ensure no revenues are lost. In addition to its use as a revenue generation tool, with the imposition of the non-resident speculation tax, the province has now returned to using the tax for policy purposes. This paper provides a general overview of the LTT regime in Ontario and discusses some of the key areas in which tax battles are currently being won and lost.