Frank Notte
Ontario new car dealers are breathing easier with the introduction of provincial legislation that makes changes to how municipalities are governed, but gives them no power to charge a Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), says Frank Notte, director of government relations for the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA).
Introduced last week by Municipal Affairs Minister Bill Mauro, the legislation is the result of a year-long public consultation on what changes should be made to the Municipal Act.
TADA is happy that municipal leaders and new car dealers were listened to, says Notte.
“In order to promote the auto sector, governments should encourage vehicle ownership and not simply tax a household necessity like the family car to generate over $600 million every year,” he says.
He adds that TADA is grateful to Leeds-Grenville MPP Steve Clark for leading the charge against a VRT.
“Motorists already send about $10 billion every year to this government in licensing fees and taxes. The last thing they can afford is to dig deeper,” says Clark.
