As you are probably aware, the Municipal Tax Sales Act will be repealed as of 1 January 2003. Tax registrations and tax sales will then be conducted pursuant to Part XI of the Municipal Act, 2001.

Realtax Inc. has prepared the attached review of some of the changes to tax registrations and tax sales that will be brought about by the new Municipal Act and various other Acts. Also please find attached a copy of Part XI of the Municipal Act, 2001 as amended by The Municipal Statute Law Amendment Act, 2002 (Bill 177).

Review of Changes to Tax Registrations and Tax Sales

Strengthening the Provincial-Municipal Relationship

The proposed Municipal Act would, if approved by the Legislature, recognize municipalities as responsible and accountable governments operating within the jurisdiction set out for them in law. It would also recognize the importance of ongoing consultation with the municipal sector on matters that affect municipalities. The government intends to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the municipal sector on how that process would work.

Proposed Municipal Act means New Flexibility for Municipalities

The proposed Municipal Act would, if passed by the Legislature, enhance flexibility for innovative municipal service delivery, improve accountability to the public, and promote safe, well-administered, economically healthy municipalities. The proposed Act would give municipalities broad authority in a number of "spheres of jurisdiction" - generally matters of local interest. Municipalities would have more closely defined and narrower authority in other areas of jurisdiction in which the province has a greater interest.

General Municipal Powers

The proposed new Act would give municipalities broad authority within 10 spheres of jurisdiction: - Public utilities - Waste management - Public highways - Transportation systems - Culture, parks, recreation and heritage - Drainage and flood control - Parking - Economic development services - Structures not covered by the Building Code Act, including fences and signs - Animals. The proposed Act would give municipalities other general powers in addition to those associated with the 10 spheres of jurisdiction. For example, it would give municipalities what are known in law as natural person powers - the same powers a person has to conduct day-to-day business without the need for specific legislative authority. For example, they could enter into agreements, buy land and equipment, and hire employees. They would also have limited powers to establish corporations in accordance with regulations. Municipalities would only be able to use these natural person powers in the areas in which they have legislative authority to act. Municipalities would also have certain governmental powers such as the authority to tax, or to regulate or license certain activities. The legislation proposes some limits to these general municipal powers. For example, a municipal bylaw would not be permitted if it conflicts with provincial law. Generally, a municipality would only be able to use its spheres of jurisdiction to regulate systems it owns, and to pass bylaws that apply only within its own boundaries. Municipal bylaws made according to these general powers would also be subject to any specific limits set out in the Municipal Act or other acts.

Specific Municipal Powers

Some matters are of significant provincial as well as local interest. They include the natural environment, health, safety, and nuisance. In these areas, municipal powers would be set out in more detail in the proposed Act, as they are in the current Act. Provisions governing these powers would be streamlined. A number of other specific powers would be set out in the proposed Act. These include, for example, the power to require landowners to clear refuse and debris from their land, and powers with respect to the relationship between the local and county or regional levels of government in Ontario's two-tier county and regional systems. The proposed Act would maintain the existing division of powers between upper and lower tier governments.

Business Licensing and Registration

The proposed Municipal Act would continue to allow municipalities to license businesses, but would specify that municipalities could only exercise their licensing powers, including imposing conditions on licences, for one or more of the following purposes: health and safety, nuisance control and consumer protection. Certain businesses would continue to be exempt from municipal licensing, and the Minister would have the authority to exempt others - including self-regulated businesses - by regulation. The Minister could also by regulation provide that municipalities would not be permitted to test trades or occupations that are already subject to provincial certification. In the proposed Act, licensing fees would not be permitted to exceed the costs of administration and enforcement. Public notification would be required when a municipality wants to establish a bylaw or change fees or the classes of businesses that are to be licensed. Municipalities would also have the option of establishing a business registry for information-gathering purposes for businesses that do not need to be licensed.

Municipal Councils, Practices and Procedures

The proposed Act would streamline the rules on councils and their practices and procedures. For example, it would give county councils more authority to change their size or composition. It would designate the head of council as the municipality's chief executive officer. The proposed Act would confirm the current rules on open meetings, but it would add "sale of land" to the list of items that can now be discussed in a closed meeting.

Municipal Finance

The proposed legislation would continue many of the financial reporting provisions and audit requirements of the current Municipal Act. It would incorporate current requirements for the preparation of a municipal budget. The proposed Act would also allow municipalities to keep or eliminate the tax-free allowance councillors currently must receive. The proposed Act would set out rules governing municipal taxation and tax collection. The proposed Act would also update and clarify the rules on municipal debt and investment. It would give municipalities access to a broader range of investment instruments, thereby increasing their returns on their investments, and reducing the need to raise revenues through taxes and user fees. Small municipalities that would otherwise be unable to take advantage of some of these new instruments, would be able to do so through investment pooling agencies such as the ONE fund, sponsored by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the Municipal Finance Officers Association.

User Fees

The proposed Act would introduce new accountability measures with respect to user fees. It would require municipalities to provide a public list of user fees. To ensure accountability, fairness and public input, regulatory power would be provided to permit the Minister to divide user fees into categories with different rules applying to each category. Fees that are often disputed would be in a category subject to more criteria while other fees would be subject to fewer criteria. Criteria may include varying notification requirements, links to the budget process, sunset provisions and cost recovery limitations.

Consolidation of Municipal Legislation

The proposed legislation would be more comprehensive, understandable, and better organized than the body of legislation that currently applies to municipalities. It would incorporate not only the current Municipal Act, but other municipal legislation as well. For example, it would replace the current Regional Municipalities Act, current acts that apply to individual regions and counties, the Municipal Tax Sales Act, and the Municipal Boundary Negotiations Act. Some 1100 pages of legislation governing municipalities would be reduced to 350. The government plans to amend a number of other acts in the spring to make them consistent with the proposed new Municipal Act. For example, many pieces of legislation that refer to regional municipalities and counties would have to be amended to reflect the fact that the proposed Municipal Act would recognize only three categories of municipality - upper, lower and single-tier.

Contacts:

Scott Thompson
Municipal Governance and Structures Branch
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
(416) 585-6605
Dan Cowin
Municipal Finance Branch
Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
(416) 585-6951

The following is an Overview of Bill 140, provided by Diane Ross of the Ministry of Finance. The Board of Directors of AMTCO would like to express its appreciation to the staff of the Ministry for providing this document.

Please review the content and forward your questions and/or comments to any member of the AMTCO Executive.

Provincial-Local Finance Secretariat
Ministry of Finance

OVERVIEW OF MEASURES CONTAINED IN THECONTINUED PROTECTION FOR PROPERTY TAXPAYERS ACT, 2000(BILL 140)

November 16, 2000

Note:  This document reflects the contents of Bill 140 as introduced for First Reading in the Legislature on November 16, 2000.  All of the comments contained herein are subject to the Bill being passed by the Legislature. The information provided in this document is for general reference purposes only.  For complete information or for precise interpretation, please refer to the relevant provisions of the legislation and regulations.

BACKGROUND

In 1998, the Province imposed mandatory limits on reform-related property tax increases for commercial, industrial and multi-residential properties of 10% for 1998, 5% in 1999, and 5% in 2000 to make the impact of current value assessment reform manageable for taxpayers.  These limits were implemented under the Fairness for Property Taxpayers Act, 1998.

In the 1999 Ontario Budget, the Province made a commitment to maintain limits on property tax increases beyond 2000 to ensure the continuation of a manageable transition from the former outdated assessment system to the new current value assessment system.

PURPOSE OF ACT

The Continued Protection for Property Taxpayers Act, 2000, if passed, would implement the commitment made in the 1999 Budget to maintain limits on reform-related property tax increases beyond 2000 and to provide municipalities with mitigation tools to meet the limits on tax increases.

The Act would also implement the following changes:

• the new real-time approach to the taxation of vacant business properties, as announced by the Minister of Finance on January 12, 2000;
• the new treatment for waterpower generating stations, as announced by the Minister of Finance on September 15, 2000; and
• a variety of measures designed to improve the equity and administrative effectiveness of the property tax system.

To implement these measures, this Act would make amendments to the Assessment Act, the Municipal Act, the Education Act, the Municipal Tax Assistance Act, the Electricity Act, the Provincial Land Tax Act, and the Municipal Elections Act.  Details of the proposed amendments are set out below.

LIMITS ON TAX INCREASES FOR 2001 AND BEYOND

This Act would add a new Part XXII.3 to the Municipal Act which would contain the provisions governing limits on property tax increases for 2001 and subsequent years.

The Limits

For 2001 and subsequent years, all municipalities would be required to limit the reform-related property tax increases on commercial, industrial and multi-residential properties to 5% per year.

The City of Toronto, which adopted a 2.5% cap for 1998, 1999 and 2000, would have the option of applying a 2.5% limit starting in 2001.  The City would have until February 28 of each year (or such later date as may be prescribed by the Minister of Finance) to select a 2.5% limit, otherwise the 5% limit would apply.

Municipal levy increases, where permitted, would be applied in addition to the limit.

The limit would be calculated each year based on the previous year’s taxes.

The limit would remain in place until properties reach their current value assessment to allow for a gradual, manageable and predictable transition to reform.

Properties Subject to the Limit

The limit would apply to all property in the commercial, industrial and multi-residential classes (the “protected classes”), subject to the following exclusions:

• property in territory without municipal organization;
• farmland awaiting development;
• property that is subject to payments in lieu of taxes (however, commercial tenants in provincially-owned properties would be protected by the limits);
• international bridges and tunnels;
• convention centres that are eligible for an education tax exemption; and
• certain generation and transformer facilities.

The limit would not apply to property in the residential, farmland, managed forest, and pipeline property classes.

Tenants

Business tenants who entered into occupation of their current premises prior to property tax reform in 1998 would be protected by the limits.

Landlords of commercial and industrial property would be required to limit the tax increases of eligible tenants to 5% per year (or 2.5% if chosen by Toronto) over the amount charged to the tenant in the previous year.  The landlord may add on municipal levy increases where applicable.

The protection of the limits would apply to tenants who were subject to the 2.5% and the 10-5-5% tenant caps, that is, tenants who occupied their premises as of December 31, 1997 (“eligible tenants”).

Landlords of business properties would be able to recover any property tax shortfall that results from the limitation of tax increases on eligible tenants by limiting the tax decreases of other tenants who occupied their premises as of:

• June 11, 1998 (the date of passage of the Small Business and Charities Protection Act, 1998) for properties that were under the 2.5% cap in Toronto; and
• December 18, 1998 (the date of passage of the Fairness for Property Taxpayers Act, 1998) for properties that were subject to the 10-5-5% cap.

New Construction and other Property Changes

Properties that undergo substantial changes or that change classification would benefit from competitive tax treatment and would become protected by the 2.5% and 5% limits.

For the first year that a property undergoes a change, as described below, the taxes on the property would be calculated based on the lower of the property’s current value assessment (CVA) or the property’s CVA adjusted downwards to reflect the average level of taxation of similar properties in the vicinity.

The level of taxation of each similar property would be determined by comparing the actual taxes levied on the property (subject to the 2.5% or 5% limit) to the taxes that would be levied based on the property’s current value assessment.

A level of taxation would be established for up to six similar properties in the vicinity of the subject property, and the average of these levels would be calculated.

If the average level of taxation of the similar properties is below the level of the subject property, the taxes of the subject property would be reduced to the average level.

Properties subject to this competitive treatment, starting in 2001, would include:

• newly-constructed commercial, industrial and multi-residential properties;
• commercial, industrial and multi-residential properties that undergo a renovation or addition that increases the assessed value of the property by 50% or more;
• property that used to be exempt from taxation and becomes taxable in the commercial, industrial or multi-residential class;
• commercial, industrial and multi-residential land that undergoes subdivision or severance;
• properties that change classification from an unprotected class into a protected class, or between protected classes; and
• properties that moved into the commercial, industrial or multi-residential classes in 1998, 1999 or 2000 due to a change in use or because they ceased to be exempt from taxation.

MITIGATION TOOLS TO MEET THE LIMIT

Municipalities would have the option of meeting the limit through a variety of mitigation tools, including the following.

Capping Mechanism:

A new capping mechanism would be made available to municipalities under the new Part XXII.3 of the Municipal Act.

Features of this tool would include the following:

• It would be a permissive tool, authorizing, but not requiring, the limitation of tax decreases as a means of funding the limit.
• It would not require the use of a frozen assessment listing.
• It could be used in conjunction with other tools.

Optional Property Classes:

• The optional property classes (as prescribed under section 7 of the Assessment Act) would continue to be available to municipalities.
• The deadline for adopting optional classes for the 2001 tax year would be extended from October 31, 2000 to April 30, 2001.

Graduated Tax Rates:

• The graduated tax rate mechanism under section 368.2 of the Municipal Act would remain unchanged.  Municipalities could apply different tax rates to various portions of the assessment of commercial and industrial properties.

Municipal Tax Reductions:

• The municipal tax rebate tool under section 442.2 of the Municipal Act would be replaced with a new tax reduction mechanism.
• Using this mechanism, municipalities could reduce the taxes of commercial, industrial and multi-residential property down to the limit by processing a reduction on the tax bill rather than issuing an after-the-fact rebate.
• Municipalities would fund the costs of tax reductions under this mechanism.  The cost would not be shared by school boards.

Phase-Ins:

A new phase-in tool would be created under section 372.2 of the Municipal Act.

The new phase-in would be a modified version of the existing phase-in that was made available for the 1998 reassessment under section 372 of the Municipal Act.

The new phase-in mechanism would be a permanent tool that could be used to gradually implement tax increases and decreases upon each reassessment.

The new phase-in tool would allow municipalities to:

• phase in all tax changes that occur in the year of a reassessment;
• take up to eight years following each reassessment to phase in tax changes;
• establish phase-in thresholds based on percentages or dollar amounts;
• replace an existing phase-in with a new phase-in, provided that the new phase-in applies for at least as many years as remain outstanding under the original phase-in;
• phase in equal amounts each year or phase in variable amounts, provided that the amount phased in each year is no more than the amount phased in for the previous year.

MUNICIPAL LEVY CHANGES

Moving Tax Burdens:

The freeze on tax ratios that was imposed for 1998, 1999 and 2000 under section 363 of the Municipal Act will expire at the end of 2000.  Therefore, for 2001, the pre-existing rules respecting tax ratios and ranges of fairness would govern because this Act would not amend those rules.

Municipalities would have the flexibility to adjust tax ratios to shift taxes among property classes provided that the tax ratios are not moved away from the provincial ranges of fairness as prescribed under section 363(6) of the Municipal Act.

The general rule respecting movement of tax ratios (as set out in section 363) is that if the tax ratio of a property class falls outside (either above or below) the range of fairness prescribed for that class, the municipality must either maintain the existing tax ratio or adjust the ratio so that it moves closer to the range of fairness.  A municipality cannot move its tax ratios away from the range of fairness.

Levy Increases:

Municipalities would be able to impose levy increases on one or more property classes. However, if the tax ratio of a property class exceeds the prescribed threshold ratio for that class, any municipal tax rate increase on the class would be limited in the prescribed manner, in accordance with the new subsections 366(4.1)-(4.4) for upper-tier municipalities and 368(4.1)-(4.4) for local municipalities.

TRANSITION RATIOS

This Act would add a new subsection 363(7.1) to the Municipal Act to give the Minister of Finance the authority to prescribe new transition ratios.  This would facilitate the recalculation of new tax ratios upon reassessments if required, as well as the calculation of new tax ratios upon municipal restructurings.

DEADLINE EXTENSIONS

To give municipalities ample time to consider their tax policy options each year, this Act would extend the following deadlines:

Vacant Buildings

This Act would amend the Municipal Act (adding a new section 442.5) and the Assessment Act (section 8) to implement a new real-time approach to the taxation of vacant buildings on commercial and industrial properties.

Under these amendments, tax reductions for vacant commercial and industrial buildings would be provided to property owners by municipalities through rebates.

Buildings would be shown on the assessment roll each year as fully occupied, regardless of whether there are vacant units in a building at the time of the preparation of the assessment roll, and tax reductions would be provided exclusively through rebates without any alterations of the assessment roll.

The onus would be on property owners to submit an application to the local municipality for a rebate. Applications may either be filed during the year (e.g. after a vacancy has ended because a property becomes occupied mid-way through the year) or after year-end up to February 28th of the following year.

The percentage tax reduction to be provided through the rebates would be 30% for commercial property and 35% for industrial property.

The following features of the program would be established in regulation:

• the definition of eligible property (i.e. what constitutes vacant space for the purpose of this rebate program); and
• the calculation methodology (i.e. determining the portion of the property’s total tax that is attributable to the vacant area to which the 30%-35% tax reductions would be applied).

Taxpayers would have the right to appeal the amount of the rebate given by the municipality to the Assessment Review Board.

Excess Land and Vacant Land

Excess land will continue to be shown on the assessment roll in an excess land sub-class. Section 8 of the Assessment Act would be amended to remove “vacant units” from the “vacant units and excess land” sub-classes, simply leaving sub-classes for “excess land”.

Vacant land would not be affected by the new real-time system.  Vacant parcels of land would continue to be identified by assessors and included on the assessment roll in one of the vacant land sub-classes.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

Phase-Ins

The new phase-in tool to be added in section 372.2 of the Municipal Act (as discussed above under the heading “Mitigation Tools to Meet the Limits”) would be available for the residential, farmland and managed forest property classes in addition to the business property classes.

Municipalities would be permitted to phase in all tax changes upon each reassessment starting in 2001. Municipalities would have the option of phasing in tax changes over a period of up to eight years.

Mandatory Relief for Low-Income Senior and Disabled Homeowners

For the 1998 reassessment, municipalities were required under section 373 of the Municipal Act to provide property tax relief to low-income seniors and low-income people with disabilities in respect of assessment-related tax increases on their principal residence.

• Relief was mandatory where the homeowner, or the spouse of the owner, was a “low-income senior” or a “low-income person with a disability” as defined by the upper-tier or single-tier municipality.
• The amount of relief (i.e. the extent of the assessment-related tax increase from which relief would be provided) and the form of relief (i.e. whether a cancellation, rebate or deferral) were at the discretion of each upper-tier and single-tier municipality.

This Act would amend section 373 of the Municipal Act to make this relief a permanent requirement upon each reassessment.  This Act would expand the eligible amount of relief by allowing municipalities to provide relief from all tax increases (i.e. including municipal levy increases), not just reassessment-related tax increases.

Optional Relief from Hardship

A new provision would be added as section 442.6 of the Municipal Act to give local municipalities the option of providing property tax reductions or refunds to owners of residential, farm or managed forests property if the taxes on the property are “unduly burdensome” as defined by the municipality.

Municipalities would determine the amount of relief and the eligibility criteria.

The cost of relief would automatically be shared by school boards in respect of the education portion of the tax. Upper-tier municipalities would have the option of sharing the cost with respect to the upper-tier portion of the property tax.

Exemption for Portion of Homes Built for Seniors and People with Disabilities

The Assessment Act currently exempts from taxation any alterations and additions that are made to existing residential premises to accommodate seniors or people with disabilities.

This Act would amend section 3(1)22 of the Assessment Act to extend similar treatment to newly-built homes by providing an exemption from taxation for a prescribed portion of the assessed value of new homes that are designed to accommodate seniors and people with disabilities.

REBATES TO CHARITIES

Amount of Rebates

During the three years of the 2.5% and 10-5-5% caps, there were special provisions in section 442.1 of the Municipal Act governing the amount of rebates to be paid to charities.  These provisions will sunset at the end of 2000 and would not be extended by this Act.  Therefore, the original requirements would take effect and municipalities would be required to provide eligible charities with rebates of at least 40% of their property tax starting in 2001, unless a different percentage is prescribed by the Minister of Finance.

• Charities would be eligible for this mandatory rebate if they have a valid registration number issued by Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, and if they are occupying commercial or industrial property.
• Charities who are tenants of business property would be eligible for the rebate in the same way as property owners.

Municipalities would continue to have the option of providing rebates to organizations that are similar to eligible charities (i.e. non-profit organizations), and they would continue to have the option of providing rebates in excess of the minimum amounts required under section 442.1(3) up to 100% of the property tax paid by charities and similar organizations.

• Section 442.1(4) of the Municipal Act, which contains the provisions governing optional rebate parameters, would be amended for greater clarity.

Payment Deadlines

The rebate payment deadlines in section 442.1(3) of the Municipal Act would be changed to enhance flexibility for both municipalities and charities.

The current deadlines are fixed at January 15th of the tax year for the first instalment and June 30th for the balance of the rebate.  Under the amendments made by this Act, municipalities would be required to issue half  of the rebate payment to a charity within 60 days after the receipt of the charity’s application, and the balance of the rebate would be payable within 120 days of the receipt of the application, with adjustments (if any) being made after the issuance of final tax bills for the year.

UNIQUE PROPERTIES

Waterpower Generating Stations

A new provision would be added to section 3 of the Assessment Act and to section 3 of the Provincial Land Tax Act to exempt waterpower generating stations and related lands from property taxation.

• An exemption from taxation would also be added to section 3 of the Assessment Act for poles, lines and towers owned by power utilities.  This would replicate an exemption that was formerly in the Power Corporation Act..

The Electricity Act would be amended to require owners of stations who are successors of Ontario Hydro or municipal electrical utilities to pay to the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation a charge calculated as a specified percentage of the gross revenue from the production of electricity at the station.  Private waterpower producers would pay an equivalent tax to the Province.

The Electricity Act would also be amended to require the holders of provincial water leases to pay a water rental charge to the Province calculated at the rate of 9.5% of gross revenue from the production of electricity at the station.

For new stations that are completely re-built or expanded, the gross revenue resulting from the production of additional capacity associated with the plant expansion would qualify for a ten-year holiday from property taxes and water rental charges.

Convention Centres

The Education Act would be amended (addition of new subsections 257.6(6) and (7) to exempt prescribed (large) convention centres from the education portion of the property tax.

The Assessment Act would be amended (addition of new section 27.2) to require prescribed (large) convention centres that are exempt from property taxation to make payments in lieu of taxes in such amount as may be set out in regulation.

Airport Authorities

The Act would revise the method for determining payments in lieu of property taxes made by airport authorities by repealing the provision in section 3(1)24 of the Assessment Act which requires the amount of payments in lieu of taxes to be determined annually by the Minister of Finance.  This provision would be replaced with a new regulated formula.

Clerics’ Residences

This Act would amend section 3(1)3 of the Assessment Act to provide an exemption from taxation for 50% of the assessed value of the residence occupied by the principal cleric of a place of worship where the residence is located at the site of the place of worship. The Assessment Act currently provides an exemption from taxation to places of worship and land used in connection therewith but does not define “land used in connection”.

TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS

This Act would make the following technical amendments to promote the equity and administrative effectiveness of the property tax system.

Education Tax Cut:  Section 257.12.2 of the Education Act (which governs the eight-year business education tax cut) would be amended to remove references to 3.3% and replace those references with a percentage to be prescribed by the Minister of Finance.  (The percentage, which represents the provincial average business education tax rate, needs to be updated upon each reassessment.)

Billing Different Classes at Different Times:  Amendments to section 392 of the Municipal Act would allow municipalities to issue tax bills for different property classes at different times.  This would make permanent an authority that was provided to municipalities for 1998, 1999 and 2000.

Interim Levies:  Sections 370 and 371 of the Municipal Act would be amended to modify the rules respecting calculation of interim levies.  Under the new rule, interim taxes on a property would be based on 50% of the taxes levied on the property in the previous year rather than 50% of the rate applied in the previous year.

Temporary Borrowing Limits for Municipalities:  An amendment to section 187 of the Municipal Act would expand the temporary borrowing limits of municipalities for 2001 from 50% to 70% of budgeted revenues for the January 1 to September 30 period, and from 25% to 45% for the October 1 to December 31 period.

Haldimand and Norfolk:  A new section 363.2 would be added to the Municipal Act to provide the Minister of Finance with the authority to deem the Towns of Haldimand and Norfolk to be a single municipality for tax-related matters.

Frozen Assessment Listing Corrections:  A new section 447.26.1 would be added to the Municipal Act to allow corrections to be made to the frozen assessment listing after 2000 to ensure the integrity of the base used for calculating taxes for 2001 and future years.

Amended Notices of Assessment:  Section 32 of the Assessment Act would be amended to require the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation (OPAC) to issue Amended Notices of Assessment to reflect changes in a property’s classification where the change results from an amendment to the regulation defining property classes under the Assessment Act and the taxes that were levied on the property under the original classification exceed the taxes that would have been levied under the revised classification.  Notices may be issued for the current year and, if the regulation is retroactive in its application, for up to three preceding tax years.

Supplementary Notices of Assessment:  Section 34(2.1) of the Assessment Act would be amended to allow OPAC to issue supplementary notices of assessment to reflect changes in a property’s classification to a lower-taxed class during a tax year.  (At present, supplementary assessment notices can only be issued where there are changes to a higher-taxed class.)

Requests for Reconsideration:  Amendments would be made to section 39.1 of the Assessment Act:

• Clarify that requests can be filed by the current owner of the property and by anyone who was entitled to receive a notice of assessment.  (This would allow requests to be made by persons who buy a property after the assessment roll is returned, or by persons who did not receive a notice.)
• Allow taxpayers who receive a notice of supplementary or omitted assessment to make requests for reconsideration up to December 31 of the taxation year or within 90 days after receiving the notice of supplementary/omitted assessment, whichever is later.
• Remove the Assessment Review Board from the process so that a taxpayer and assessor who reach an agreement to alter an assessment through the reconsideration process would notify the municipality who would adjust the collector’s roll accordingly.  If the municipality objects to the proposed settlement, it would continue to have a right to appeal the change to the Assessment Review Board.  (This amendment would eliminate unnecessary red tape.)

Farm Lands and Buildings:  Section 19(5) of the Assessment Act would be amended to clarify the wording of the provision governing the assessment of farm lands and to give the Minister of Finance the ability to define “farm lands” and “farm purposes” for the purposes of this Act.  As well, a new subsection 19(5.0.1) would be added to provide for the assessment of prescribed lands and buildings at farm rates.

Seminaries of Learning:  Section 3(1)5 of the Assessment Act would be amended to clarify the wording of the exemption for non-profit seminaries of learning to ensure that the exemption would be accorded to buildings and up to 50 acres of land.

Gross Leases:  Amendments to sections 444.1 and 444.2 of the Municipal Act would simplify the notices that landlords with gross leases are required to send to tenants with respect to the recovery of property taxes and BIA charges by:

• eliminating the requirement to send a “notice of intent to require payment” by January 31st of each tax year; and
• allowing tenants to pay taxes in instalments throughout the year, with adjustments to be made at year-end based on the final tax bill (as opposed to the current provisions which do not allow the landlord to require payment of any amount on account of property taxes until after the final tax bill has been received).

Tenants in Provincial Property:  Section 4(3) of the Municipal Tax Assistance Act would be amended to clarify that tenanted portions of provincially-owned properties should not be subject to direct taxation but rather should be subject to payments in lieu of taxes.  As well, section 14(1) of the Assessment Act would be amended to require OPAC to show the aggregate assessed value of tenanted portions of provincial properties on the assessment roll (because the tenanted portions are protected by the 5% limit).

Court Applications:  An amendment to section 46 of the Assessment Act would clarify that the court, upon an application for the interpretation of an assessment or taxation matter, can alter assessments made and taxes levied for years prior to the year in which the application was made in respect of supplementary or omitted assessments. (The Act currently only allows the court to alter assessments made for the year in which the application is made and for subsequent years, but not for prior years.)

Holidays:  A new section 47 would be added to the Assessment Act to stipulate that if the last day for doing anything under the Act falls on a holiday, the deadline is the next day that is not a holiday.  The definition of “holiday” would be the same as the one used under the Rules of Civil Procedure which apply to all court proceedings.  Holiday is defined in those Rules as including Saturdays and Sundays.

• In the absence of a provision defining “holiday” in the Assessment Act, the definition in the Interpretation Act governs.  The definition of “holiday” in the Interpretation Act excludes Saturdays.