Milton Joins Municipal Push for Share of Land Transfer Tax and GST

Milton is adding its voice to a growing movement of municipalities urging the provincial and federal governments to allocate a portion of property transaction revenues to support local infrastructure projects.

During a recent council meeting, members endorsed a motion requesting a share of the provincial land transfer tax and federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected from property transactions. The motion argues that this additional funding would provide a stable revenue source for essential infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and transit.

Councillor Colin Best highlighted that 180 municipalities, along with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), have supported similar initiatives.

“This isn’t about raising taxes—it’s about fairly redistributing existing revenue from the province and federal government to municipalities that need it,” said Best, who introduced the motion.

However, while supporting the proposal, Councillor John Challinor expressed skepticism, noting that past requests for similar revenue-sharing models have been unsuccessful. He suggested that instead of diverting funds from existing streams, municipalities should advocate for a dedicated infrastructure fund.

“It would have been more effective to push for the federal and provincial governments to establish a sustainable infrastructure fund specifically for municipalities,” said Challinor.

Best acknowledged the challenges but remained hopeful. He pointed to the long battle for municipal gas tax revenue, which took two decades of advocacy before municipalities saw a share.

“We finally secured that funding,” he said. “With a federal election coming up, this might be the right moment to push for more.”

He estimates there’s a “50/50” chance that the effort will succeed

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