City officials will consider raising funds to fight deficit through a municipal lottery or taxing marijuana.
The City of Toronto is looking at establishing a municipal lottery or taxing legal marijuana to help raise funds for our cash-strapped city.
The City manager is expected to present a comprehensive report to the budget committee on January 26 in regards to the lottery.
The report will detail “the necessary steps and governmental approvals required to establish a municipal lottery within our jurisdiction,” according to a budget agenda.
Also being considered is taxing travellers using Billy Bishop Airport and those with vacant dwellings.
Etobicoke Ward 3 Councillor Amber Morley and Etobicoke Centre’s Stephen Holyday voted in favour of a municipal lottery being studied as a means of the city to earn cash, since it is more than $1.5 billion in debt.
The City Manager will “provide an analysis of the potential revenues that could be generated through the implementation of such a lottery.”
It is not known how or when the lottery will start but it first has to be approved by City Council. It is expected to generate millions for city coffers.
Toronto Billy Bishop Airport travellers can also face a levy or tax as the city seeks to fight its deficit.
The committee will also consider the feasibility of introducing a potential tax levy per passenger for those using Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.
That too is expected to generate millions for the city if approved by City Council.
The Billy Bishop Airport is an important international gateway and a key driver to Toronto’s economy, which traditionally welcomes approximately 2.8 million passengers per year.
The airport is the ninth busiest airport in Canada, and the fifth busiest with service to the U.S.
City Councillors will also consider a levy or some sort of tax on the sales of legitimate marijuana at the hundreds of licensed stores in Toronto.
A tax on marijuana sales is expected to reap millions in cash for the city.
Legitimate cannabis stores like this one face a tax or levy by the City to make ends meet.
ales, or 12.7% of all regulated recreational cannabis revenue in Canada.
The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) is the country’s highest-earning cannabis agency, with $234-million profit last year which easily topped the $95 million made by Quebec’s agency, the $18 million of New Brunswick’s and the $2.9 million of Prince Edward Island.
The OCS is the sole wholesaler to more than 1,500 authorized cannabis stores in the province.
The owner of a popular cannabis store in Toronto can earn $250,000 or more yearly.