But Tory will back a tax applied to all hotels and accommodations, including short-term rentals on websites such as Airbnb, the Star has learned. The mayor supports a rate that would generate up to $20 million a year to city coffers, senior city sources said. The Greater Toronto Hotel Association opposes any new hotel tax and has warned it will cause job loss, reduction of foreign direct investment in the hotel industry and other economic harm. “This is a fair way to ensure Toronto’s popularity with Canadian and international visitors and helps maintain our success as a city,” a senior city source said. The city will need permission from the province to impose a hotel tax as well as eliminate the vacant property tax which is mandated across the province.

Source: thestar November 24, 2016 03:12 UTC