Sarnia's mayor says Ontario municipalities have dodged a bullet after the prospect of a local land transfer tax was shot down in the legislature.
On Tuesday, Municipal Affairs Minister Ted McMeekin said the Liberal government, after consultations, decided not to permit towns and cities, other than Toronto, to impose their own land transfer tax.
Mayor Mike Bradley says the tax would have been a negative for home owners and local industry.
"Municipalities didn't want this tax, we thought it was a burden on the homeowner trying to move up in the market or buy their first home and it was unacceptable for us as a form of revenue," says Bradley. "We do need revenue sharing with the province but we want the type of revenue sharing like the gas tax."
Bradley says they continue to fight for fairness in taxation.
He says, right now, for every dollar Canadians pay in taxes, only six cents goes directly to municipalities.