As Toronto continues to grapple with a dearth of affordable housing, a surge in the sale of multimillion-dollar houses could, if tapped correctly, be used to lift hundreds of people from chronic homelessness and out of the city’s bursting emergency shelter system. A motion going to city council would see a higher land transfer tax applied to houses that sold for more than $3 million. In Toronto, homes sold for $2 million and up are subject to a land transfer tax rate of 2.5 per cent. Toronto’s emergency shelter system has space for 7,425 people, according to online city statistics, but at last count was just a few spots away from being completely full. Diane Walter, executive director for Margaret’s Housing and Community Support Services, said “anything that moves the needle” for people experiencing chronic homelessness should be applauded.

Source: thestar March 22, 2019 20:36 UTC