Toronto's swanky private golf clubs continue sweetheart deal on taxes while other courses attract developers
Decades historic fixed tax agreements for these exclusive enclaves have cost the city millions in deferred taxes, but do they work?
BY RON JOHNSON
Published: Friday, Mar. 9, 2018, 08:42 AM
Clockwise from left: former councillor Howard Moscoe and two courses being turned over to residential development, York Downs and Glen Abbey
Is everyone in the city paying a fair share? That was the question last month, as the City of Toronto was once again deliberating over the Toronto budget.
Are homeowners paying enough or too much? Are small businesses paying too much? Should arts facilities get a special tax class?
There is a movement to keep the city affordable and diverse and not let it become a playground for the rich and fabulous.
So what of old-timey institutions such as private golf clubs? Shouldn’t such places pay their fair share?
Local residents might be surprised to learn that some of the wealthiest enclaves in the city get special tax breaks dating back decades — agreements that are unbreakable, according to City of Toronto officials.
Take Rosedale Golf Club for instance. This very private golf course in central Toronto dates back more than a century. It has ranked as one of the best golf courses in the country.
Membership, if it is offered at all, runs upwards of $90,000. But since the creation of metropolitan Toronto in the 1950s, the club has enjoyed the benefits of a fixed assessment agreement, meaning that property taxes are paid on a historic pre-determined amount. The difference between that amount and the amount payable under the current assessment value is deferred, as is interest on the deferred amount.
Maybe it’s time the playing field was levelled so that the community exacts some sort of benefit, and allow kids or adults from priority neighbourhoods to use the course once a week.
Other clubs that cater to a very exclusive clientele, such as Oakdale Golf & Country Club and the Toronto Hunt Club, get the same deal.
“As it turns out now, the guy who washes the floor in the locker room at these clubs is subsidizing the members of the club,” said Howard Moscoe, a former Toronto city councillor who tried and failed to beat the agreements numerous times over his long career in politics.
His battles over the private golf club dealings are chronicled in his new book released late last year.
“Most people don’t even know of these agreements,” he said.
There were 12 private clubs that got these sweetheart deals, and only nine remain. Moscoe estimates that monies owed to the city could be as much as $41 million. But there is more to it than simple tax breaks.
When the agreements were struck with different metropolitan Toronto areas, such as Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York, the fear was that without them the large tracts of land would become housing developments.
“They are still active contracts that we are bound by today,” said John Longarini, manager, operational support for the city.
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