Certainly property taxes enter into the total tax burden on new investment, on capital. I can't speak to Ontario, but certainly there have been a number of studies showing that high property taxes do tend to divert businesses, at least within large metropolitan areas that have different taxing municipalities. They are probably not at the top of the list of where businesses choose to locate and expand across provinces or within or outside of Canada. More important are the costs of labour, the availability of skilled labour, land costs, rental costs. On a small list, perhaps property taxes would be around fifth or sixth on that list, and they are a concern.
On March 31st, 2008. See this statement in context.