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New Transit Funding Sources

you would need roughly 5%. Obviously it wouldn't be the only increase however, and the Liberals did cut corporate rates significantly in the late 00's, resulting in Ontarios rates being well below the North American average. once you factor in a commercial parking charge, development charges, land value capture, etc. and its probably closer to 3%. the Libs were planning an additional 2% cut in 2017 as well, so now its 1%.
 
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innsertnamehere said:
you would need roughly 5%. Obviously it wouldn't be the only increase however, and the Liberals did cut corporate rates significantly in the late 00's, resulting in Ontarios rates being well below the North American average. once you factor in a commercial parking charge, development charges, land value capture, etc. and its probably closer to 3%. the Libs were planning an additional 2% cut in 2017 as well, so now its 1%.
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Thanks....I do believe that people are being a bit cavalier with the statement that our corporate taxes are so much lower than other North American jurisdictions....not saying it is not true but corporations factor all of their costs of doing business in when picking locations to move to or stay in for their businesses. If it was just corporate tax rates, then our unemployment rate would not be so stubbornly high.

Perhaps, our low corporate tax rates are just at the right level, or were projected to be, for businesses to say "in balance, the cost of business in Ontario is ok" and shifting those rates up, without reductions in other costs (are our energy costs going down? as an example) may tilt some (who knows how many) location decisions against us.
 
the dollar is what is destroying ontario manufacturing, not corporate rates. energy rates as of today aren't that high (though that will be changing), they are sort of average on a north american level. the dollar being on par for the last half decade has driven up costs hugely. (10 cent increase in value increases costs by 10%)
 
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From
Stephen Rees's blog:


Transit Funding International Comparison


screen-shot-2014-03-13-at-11-56-52-am.png


I just got this from a tweet about Chicago being starved for funding for transit. I must admit I was quite surprised to see Vancouver as a comparator – and that we come so high up the list. In 2012 we got only slightly less than Toronto and were doing better than place alike Berlin or Boston. We had more operations funding per capita than Toronto, who seem to be getting more capital spending that year. Given the lumpy nature of capital spending that is no surprise. This year the building of the Evergreen Line would bump that up quite a bit.


Of course, we did not get anything like enough but that isn’t the point. Transit – especially in North America – does get short shrift compared to road funding. And of course London and Paris fund much more per capita than we do. But it does seem newsworthy to me that we came out of this comparison so well.
Click to expand...

Download the PDF on
at this link.
 
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Did anybody else find it weird that Wynne made the funding announcement in some family's living room? It's like some bizarre theatrical thing where she's showing people what the "average middle class family" look like in their average, normal living room.

Are they all trying to out-compete each other on how much they can pander to average families? I wonder if her advisors said "instead of saying the word families repeatedly like Horwath we'll one-up her by actually SHOWING you in the living room of an average family".
 
ehlow said:
Did anybody else find it weird that Wynne made the funding announcement in some family's living room? It's like some bizarre theatrical thing where she's showing people what the "average middle class family" look like in their average, normal living room.

Are they all trying to out-compete each other on how much they can pander to average families? I wonder if her advisors said "instead of saying the word families repeatedly like Horwath we'll one-up her by actually SHOWING you in the living room of an average family".
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It happens a lot I have noticed where politicians will make announcements with "average" people in their homes. I cannot think who in the past has done this but I have seen it done.

I do have to add I have heard that the lanes that are being taken out for the PAN AM games, supposedly will eventually become toll lanes.
 
screen-shot-2014-03-13-at-11-56-52-am.png


Well, this graph confirms what I already knew. For the amount we are spending, we could have revolutionized the way we get around in the region. Instead, I feel that we are getting piecemeal improvements, coupled with a lot of waste (A UPX corridor that doesn't even get us AD2W GO service; a $3B subway in Scarborough that essentially replaces existing service and cuts out a transfer, etc.).

We spend more, per capita, on capital expansion than any of our global peer cities. We're tied in first place with London, a city that not only is building a high speed underground regional rail system under its ancient core, but is in the midst of modernizing its enormous, complex rail system.
 
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nfitz said:
No lanes/roads are being tolled.
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Not yet. But too spend all that money on taking out those lanes - where is that money going anyways? I was listening to the 1010 Talk and callers calling in and thinking that is what will happen - that there is no way it is a temporary measure. They will be an election before then and if Liberals get a majority you think they will not do it?
 
Palma said:
Not yet. But too spend all that money on taking out those lanes - where is that money going anyways? I was listening to the 1010 Talk and callers calling in and thinking that is what will happen - that there is no way it is a temporary measure. They will be an election before then and if Liberals get a majority you think they will not do it?
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First, I agree it is inevitable we will see tolls in the Toronto area. Two, I think John Tory will most likely be our next mayor. Three, 1010 callers may have the combined IQ of 10.
 
all it will be will be painting HOV diamonds and sticking up some signs, not the permanent measures they are taking for the existing HOVs.
 
Palma said:
Not yet. But too spend all that money on taking out those lanes - where is that money going anyways?
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It's only paint and some signs. It's a fraction of the cost the electronics for tolling. Removing the paint and signs would be cheaper than the advertising campaign to deal with tolling. Let alone the infrastructure.

Palma said:
I was listening to the 1010 Talk and callers calling in and thinking that is what will happen - that there is no way it is a temporary measure.
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Good grief ... well that only demonstrated just how ignorant and ill-informed people are who call into 1010. Though as far as I've heard, some of the callers are political operatives.

Palma said:
They will be an election before then and if Liberals get a majority you think they will not do it?
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Toll highways? They've said time and time again they won't. They should ... but they won't. Besides, a gas tax is so much cheaper, easier, and less controversial to implement.

I'd think an HOV or HOT lane would be much more likely ... but not tolling.

No indication there'll be an election before the Pan-Am games. It's due in October 2015, and now that the Liberals have rolled over and made this deal with the NDP to support the budget, it looks as though we're clear right to Spring 2015. At that point, I'd simply avoid putting anything in front of the house that would trigger a vote until the end of the session.
 
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