City Conducts Review of Billboard Values for Taxation Purposes
City of Toronto staff are currently working on developing the optimal model for a billboard tax that would minimize the impact on the billboard industry while bringing in sufficient revenues to the City.
The City of Toronto’s billboard industry has adamantly refused to provide financial data to staff that would allow them to structure a tax that is consistent with their goals of minimizing impact.
As a result the City has embarked on a study of billboard values using the data that they have available to them, including data from City RFPs. One of the smartest things City Staff did is to use the industry’s own bids on City RFP’s to extrapolate the values of billboard space.
We already know that billboards, especially in the downtown area, earn enormous profits for the industry. For example, documents filed in the Ontario Superior Court indicate that Titan Outdoor was able to sell its sign at 245 Adelaide West to Apple Computer for $195,968.50 for a 12 month period. The proposed billboard tax would levy a fee on Titan or the property owner of about 2% of that value.
This is the power point presentation [PDF] that City Staff have produced with respect to their research on billboard values:
