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rfmcdonaldIt's probably unsurprising that this article comes from the definitely right-leaning National Post.
People in the Greater Toronto area use the area code 416, assigned to the City of Toronto, to distinguish Toronto from its suburbs and their area code 905.
It's worth noting, of course, that the article and interviewee are biased inasmuch as they don't seem to consider regulation a potentially good thing.
If you ask Les Liversidge why he left Toronto for Markham, he is quick to answer: "It was the business taxes, principally the tax bill on the building itself that did it."
Four years ago, the 55-year-old lawyer owned a building in north Toronto out of which he ran a small firm that practised occupational safety and workers' compensation law. His dilemma was property taxes -- they had gone through the roof.
Taxes are one factor -- albeit a major one -- that have helped push the city of Toronto down the list on the FP/ Canadian Federation of Independent Business rankings of entrepreneurial cities. Toronto is now dead last on a list of 96, while suburban Toronto, known as the 905 district, sits at 33. The evidence is clear that businesses, some with a need to stay close to Toronto, are opting for the suburbs.
[. . .]
Judith Andrew, vice-president, legislative with the CFIB, said in her group's rankings Toronto has been slipping because it is not doing well when it comes to policy issues.
The survey scores, which are based on interviews with CFIB members, found respondents giving Toronto low marks for the cost of local government, government sensitivity to local business, local government regulation and local government tax balance.
"One of the problems with Toronto is it has a real penchant for regulating" Ms. Andrews said.
"There are always new regulations in the works. It's not surprising then that Toronto gets a bad rating on regulation."
[. . .]
The impact has been more and more jobs migrating to the suburbs. "Toronto is becoming the bedroom community for 905," Ms. Andrew said. "Look at the statistics. Unemployment is higher in Toronto than it is outside."
Worse yet, there is very little confidence conditions are going to improve. "The city of Toronto's spending is increasing exponentially," she said. About the only category Toronto does well on in the survey is the diversity of its businesses.
People in the Greater Toronto area use the area code 416, assigned to the City of Toronto, to distinguish Toronto from its suburbs and their area code 905.
It's worth noting, of course, that the article and interviewee are biased inasmuch as they don't seem to consider regulation a potentially good thing.
