TORONTO –

Exactly one year ago today, the Toronto City Council repealed the Personal Vehicle Tax that required drivers to pay $60 for each car registered in the city and $30 for each motorcycle or moped.

In light of this anniversary, Toronto’s car dealers came out in celebration to commemorate the end of what they called a “war on cars” from City Hall’s former administration.

The Toronto Automobile Dealers Association says the repeal of the PVT saves drivers $64 million a year in taxes.

"Mayor Rob Ford understands the family car is a necessity for families to run their lives,” Frank Notte, TADA’s director of government relations, said of the city’s mayor elected last year. Ford had made the elimination of the PVT a major part of his 2010 campaign for office, TADA noted.

“The Toronto Automobile Dealers Association applauds Mayor Ford for killing the Toronto Car Tax that unfairly targeted the family car,” Notte continued.

“The City of Toronto’s $774 million budget deficit is the direct result of reckless and out-of-control spending. Mayor Ford is doing the right thing by reducing expenses to reign in the budget deficit instead of taking the easy way out by taxing families for owning a car,” he added.