Property Tax
< See the left-hand column for RECENT News items, including the MPAC slide presentation at the FOCA Fall Meeting, October 2012
FOCA is the home of:
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At the 2011 AGM of WRAFT, it was announced that WRAFT was being wound up, and that the Directors of WRAFT would become the property tax committee of FOCA and would take responsibility for the ongoing monitoring of all assessment and property tax matters as they affect the members of WRAFT, most of whom are also members of FOCA. The FOCA Property Taxation pages here include information regarding the 2012 assessment and the activities of the committee. For information regarding your 2012 assessment, please go to www.mpac.ca.
FOCA's Property Tax Position
FOCA advocates for fair property taxation on behalf of waterfront residential property taxpayers in Ontario. FOCA carries on our long-term interests, previously delivered through WRAFT (Waterfront Ratepayers After Fair Taxation) and CAPTR (Coalition After Property Tax Reform).
FOCA’s position on the major issues with the current residential property tax system in Ontario follows:
"Downloading" by the Province onto municipalities, and hence property owners in Ontario, is higher than all the rest of Canada. This inordinate local funding burden amplifies the unfairness inherent when property value is the sole determinant of how much an individual who pays for a lengthy list of municipal obligations. FOCA believes the provincial government must hasten and broaden the provincial role in financially supporting social services through provincial income taxes, which has only partially been addressed in the recommendations of the 2008 Provincial Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review.
The use of current value assessments (CVA), as a means to calculate property owners' payments for municipal services received, continues to unfairly distribute social costs. There are precedents in other North American jurisdictions for a fairer process, acknowledging that there are municipal services that should not be paid for solely on the basis of the value of one’s property. To use pure CVA to calculate tax obligations amounts to a tax on unrealized capital gains.
Failing to address the shortcomings within the current process will contribute to instability in many Ontario communities, forcing the untimely disposition of family assets. This is only one unfortunate if unintended consequence from the current instable and unpredictable property tax system. It is FOCA's contention that the Province must forthwith take concrete steps to address the instability and unpredictability of property taxation in Ontario.
OLDER NEWS:
Nov.2011: WRAFT Annual General Meeting was held November 5, 2011.
*Resolution: WRAFT corporation was officially dissolved, and tax reform
efforts assumed by the Tax Committee of FOCA.
October 2011: Taxation Update - Ontario Provincial Election
FOCA compiled some key points from the 4 major parties describing some of the key fiscal positions affecting property owners. Click here for the summary...
August 2011: FOCA's letter related to the 2010 Auditor-General's report (see link below) resulted in a response from MPAC, and the Minister of Finance. While MPAC claims to be working towards resolving their challenges, the Province remains committed to the current CVA system.
As an ongoing hardship for Ontario's property owners, we encourage all concerns and questions to be directed to the Minister at 416-325-0400.
FOCA and WRAFT join forces! March 2011
ReMax Recreational Property Report 2011
2010 Annual Report from Ontario's Auditor General slams MPAC
Canada Revenue "Principle Residence" Interpretation
Past WRAFT News:
WRAFT/CAPTR/FOCA meeting with MPAC, Toronto, January 2009
NEWS:
April 2013 - NW Ontario Mayors talking to MPAC about property tax breaks for industry - residential taxpayers pay attention!
January 2013 -
An update from the FOCA Taxation Committee: "Dealing with your Property Reassessment" and deciding whether to file an RfR. Click here to read the update...
Oct.2012 - MPAC Presentation to the FOCA Fall Meeting: 2012 Assessment Update, by Larry Hummel, MPAC's Chief Assessor
October 2012 - Higher assessments don't necessarily mean higher taxes - Move Smartly
September 2012 - MPAC Market Update. Notable Quote: "Waterfront property values have increased by an average of 12% since 2008, less than the average increase for all residential property"
Aug 2012 - New assessment notices will go out between Sept 5 and November 2, 2012. Notices will include show new passwords for the MPAC website, the average increase in assessment for the relevant lower tier municipality, and how results of the prior assessment, Request for Reconsideration, and Appeal on the property have been carried forward - with reasons for such actions.
June 2012 - FOCA's notes from June MPAC meeting
March 2012 - FOCA's notes from March MPAC meeting
February 2012 - 2012 (interim) property tax bills have been mailed. Here’s what you need to know about what you pay
and why:
Your property taxes are affected by:
- the education tax rate (set by the Province)
- the municipal budget (established by your Municipality)
- the municipal tax rate (set by your City/Municipality)
- your property’s assessed value (determined by MPAC).
What can you do to about your property taxes?
1) Prevent an increase in your municipal tax rate.
Municipal
governments across Ontario are currently formulating and approving
their annual budgets. Local spending decisions being made NOW will
directly affect your property tax bill. Every property owner and
resident should be paying attention.
2) Challenge your MPAC assessed value.
The most recent MPAC notices showing your property's assessed value at January 1, 2012 will be arriving through November, and will be used to determine the 4-year phased-in assessment values - starting with the 2013 year.
The value to be used in 2013 can be challenged, if you commence that challenge before April 1, 2013. To do so, you must develop a rationale as to why you believe your property has been overvalued as at January 1, 2012 – NOT what may have transpired since. Read more about submitting a “Request for Reconsideration” .
Files from the Ontario Ombudsman on MPAC, and the Ontario Property Tax system
Tax Incentive Programs:
Conservation Land Tax Incentive
Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program (>10 acres/4hectares of forested land)
