City council approves new tax cut to help Toronto's small businesses amid pandemic

Toronto cutting taxes to help small businesses Toronto's city hall is hoping to help small businesses hit hard by the pandemic by cutting taxes next year.

City hall is reaching out to help small businesses bounce back from the pandemic by cutting taxes next year.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our main streets and our neighbourhoods," said Mayor John Tory at city hall on Tuesday morning. "If they don't come back strong, we can't come back strong."

The motion adopted in council on Tuesday will see a 15 percent reduction in property taxes for small businesses. The move will help an estimated 25 thousand businesses or 60 percent of commercial properties in the city.

To qualify, businesses in downtown Toronto, on the central waterfront, in a designated growth centre, or avenues on the city's official plan, must be valued at $7 million or less. They must also have a lot no bigger than 7,500 square feet.

Businesses located elsewhere must be valued at $1 million or less. The motion passed by a vote of 25-1.

"This helps the smaller businesses which need it the most," Tory said.

Businesses along in area's like Ossington avenue, many of whom are independent, say that this will help them.

Ian Gillies, owner of Telegram Prints and Custom Framing, says, "I think it's an encouraging sounding plan, I don't know any of the details but 15 per cent is a lot over the course of 12 months."

Gillies says that working through the pandemic was tough but they were lucky to have a solid relationship with their landlord and they're now turning a corner.

Down the street at Reposado bar and lounge, owner Sandy MacFadyen, is expanding his patio to help keep capacity up. He says that a tax cut would be a big boost.

"Anything helps," he said. "This is a tough business at the best of times."

Some businesses here are wondering if this tax break will make it's way to them because they don't own their property, they rent.

"There would have to be a mechanism for all the landlords to trickle that money down to the actual business owners," Ian Gillies said.

In council today, Mayor Tory said that he would be willing to ask the province to pass legislation that would ensure the tax relief made it's way to the businesses that need it.

Something Macfadyen is hopeful for, saying "they base those business taxes on the property values and those keep going up every year."

The city says that in some cases, this tax break could save some businesses over $8,500 dollars per year.