According to reports, the City of Toronto is considering implementing a ‘rain tax’ on residents.

“The plan was floated this month by Mayor Olivia Chow, and has drawn mocking condemnation at home and abroad,” the National Post commented.

“Seriously, they want to tax the rain,” Kevin Vuong, an Independent MP in Toronto’s Spadina-Fort York, said.

“The City of Toronto is considering a rain tax on residents: the larger your property, the higher your tax because your property deflected more rain towards sewers,” The Counter Signal said.

WATCH:

From the National Post:

The new charge would be based on how much hard surface exists on a property. Roofs, driveways or concrete landscaping are all examples of hard surfaces, which do not absorb water.

The city says it would provide dedicated funding for a dedicated service – stormwater charge for stormwater management, linking properties that create more runoff to the cost of dealing with it. That in turn would help raise awareness of stormwater management among homeowners and businesses.

Water bills would now include two items – the existing water usage charge (at a reduced rate), plus a fixed charge for stormwater management based on property size and the amount of hard surface on the property.

The city estimates that water rates would fall by 25 per cent, as $385 million in stormwater management funds were removed from the current tax.

In exchange, property owners would pay a stormwater charge of about $1.68 per square metre of hard surface. That would be determined by aerial photography done by the city.

The proposed ‘rain tax’ caught the attention of Donald Trump Jr.

I’m sure it will end at the ‘Rain Tax.’ They definitely won’t just confiscate whatever they want in the not too distant future!!!” Trump Jr. said.

The Counter Signal reports:

Though still in its feedback phase of consideration, the proposal currently states that properties with more hard surfaces would incur higher taxes, as these surfaces contribute to runoff that can overwhelm the city’s sewer system during storms.

Other than shock and mockery, many are questioning the feasibility of accurately measuring and enforcing taxes based on individual property characteristics.

A statement from the city says they would categorize residents according to their property size.

“For properties less than one hectare in size, there would be a tiered, flat rate stormwater charge based on the average hard surface area of all properties in each tier.”

“Property tiers are determined by property size ranges for different property types – residential, multi-residential and condominium, and industrial commercial and institutional,” it reads.

The idea was previously considered in 2017 under then-Mayor John Tory but was ultimately dismissed as impractical.

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