TORONTO - Ontario is doubling the rebate on the land-transfer tax for first-time homebuyers to $4,000, but is increasing the same tax on homes that sell for over $2 million.
The government says half of first-time buyers won't pay any land-transfer tax to the province, while the half-percentage point increase on homes over $2 million will affect less than one per cent of the population.
The province takes in over $2.1 billion a year in the land-transfer tax, and the government says any increase in revenues from the increase on luxury homes will help pay for the doubled rebates for first-time buyers.
Premier Kathleen Wynne had said the government was worried about the difficulty faced by first-time buyers trying to get into the housing market, especially in the Greater Toronto Area where the average price is $762,975.
The government also announced it is freezing the property tax on apartment buildings while it reviews how it affects rental market affordability.
The changes to the land-transfer tax are outlined in the Ontario government's fall economic statement, which says that home ownership has become a key factor in many people's long term financial security.
Keith Leslie, the Canadian Press