DOCSLIB.ORG

Property Assessment and Classification Review : Final Report

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Property Assessment and Classification Review : Final Report Property Assessment and Classification Review Final Report Fall 2002 Submitted To: The Honourable Janet Ecker Minister of Finance Submitted By: Marcel Beaubien, MPP Lambton-Kent-Middlesex Special Advisor to the Minister of Finance LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY MARCEL BEAUBIEN, MPP Lambton-Kent-Middlesex Room 115, Legislative Building Queen’s Park Toronto ON M7A 1A8 Phone (416) 325-1209 Fax (416) 325-1198 Fall 2002 The Honourable Janet Ecker Minister of Finance 7th Floor, Frost Building South 7 Queen’s Park Crescent Toronto ON M7A 1Y7 Dear Minister Ecker: I am pleased to submit, for your review and consideration, my final report on the property assessment and classification system in Ontario. During the course of this review, I received extensive input from a variety of stakeholders, including individual taxpayers, municipalities, business and industry associations, professional associations, and the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. I also received feedback from my constituents and from my colleagues in all parties of the Legislature. I would like to convey my sincere thanks to all of the people who took their time and effort to write letters, prepare submissions, and make presentations to me during the consultations. This review presented me with a challenging task, but it was made much easier by the detailed and thoughtful submissions that were presented by stakeholders. The views and information that were brought forward during this review provided valuable insights into a broad array of property assessment and taxation issues. In the attached report, I have endeavoured to address all of the issues that were raised during the consultation process. I believe these recommendations support the government’s goal of establishing a property tax system that is fair, understandable, and accountable to both taxpayers and municipalities. Consultation projects of this nature provide an important opportunity for the government to hear the concerns and ideas of stakeholders first-hand, and to work jointly with taxpayers and municipal partners towards improving provincial programs, policies, and legislative design. It has been a privilege for me to lead the property assessment review project on behalf of the government. .../2 - 2 - I would like to thank you in advance for your consideration of the recommendations contained in the attached report. I would be pleased to discuss these issues with you in further detail at your convenience. Sincerely, Marcel Beaubien, MPP Lambton-Kent-Middlesex Property Assessment and Classification Review TABLE OF CONTENTS Topic Page Introduction ................................................................. 1 Guiding Principles .......................................................... 3 Issues and Recommendations: Access to Assessment Information ............................................... 6 Accreditation of Assessors ...................................................... 8 Advisory Committees ........................................................... 8 Appeals ...................................................................... 10 < Appeal Following Request for Reconsideration ............................ 10 < Upper-Tier Appeal Rights ............................................... 11 Banks ....................................................................... 11 Cables ....................................................................... 12 Camps ....................................................................... 14 Car Dealerships ............................................................... 15 Conservation Land ............................................................ 16 < Assessment of Mixed-Use Properties .................................... 16 < Eligible Property ....................................................... 17 Economic Development Incentive Tools .......................................... 17 Environmental Protection ...................................................... 18 Exempt Landlords with Taxable Tenants ......................................... 19 Farms ........................................................................ 21 < Application Process .................................................... 21 < Assessment Methodology .............................................. 22 < Farm Buildings ........................................................ 23 < Government-Owned Farmland ........................................... 26 < Mixed-Use Properties .................................................. 27 < Name of Classes ....................................................... 28 < Tax Rates ............................................................. 29 Float Homes .................................................................. 31 Funeral Services .............................................................. 31 Gravel Pits ................................................................... 32 Hotels ....................................................................... 33 < Assessment Methodology .............................................. 33 < Suite Hotels ........................................................... 34 Industrial Property Class ....................................................... 36 Large Industrial Property Class ................................................. 39 Life Lease Buildings ........................................................... 39 Managed Forests ............................................................. 40 < Assessment Methodology (Banding) ..................................... 40 < Assessment of Mixed-Use Properties .................................... 41 < Eligible Property ....................................................... 42 < Oversight and Administration ............................................ 42 Property Assessment and Classification Review Topic Page Multi-Residential Property Class ................................................ 44 < Future Elimination of the Class ........................................... 44 < Short-Term Recommendations .......................................... 46 ~ Rooming Houses ............................................... 46 ~ Retirement Homes .............................................. 46 ~ Co-Operative Buildings .......................................... 47 ~ Vacant Multi-Residential Land ................................... 48 ~ Land Lease Communities ........................................ 48 ~ Thresholds .................................................... 49 Non-Profit Organizations ....................................................... 50 Office Building and Shopping Centre Classes ..................................... 52 Parking Lot and Vacant Land Class .............................................. 53 < Rates and Ratios ....................................................... 53 < Sub-Classes ........................................................... 54 Pipelines ..................................................................... 55 Race Tracks and Golf Courses .................................................. 57 Railways ..................................................................... 58 < Railway Corridors (Rights-of-Way) ....................................... 58 < Railyards ............................................................. 60 Recreational Complex ......................................................... 61 Residential Condominiums ..................................................... 62 Schools (For-Profit) ............................................................ 62 Self-Storage Facilities ......................................................... 64 Shopping Malls ............................................................... 65 Small Business Properties ...................................................... 66 Trailers ...................................................................... 69 Wells ........................................................................ 71 Issues for Future Consideration: Cap on Tax Increases .......................................................... 72 Crown Land .................................................................. 73 Appendices: A: Terms of Reference ...................................................... 74 B: Summary of Recommendations ............................................ 76 C: List of Stakeholders ...................................................... 89 Property Assessment and Classification Review INTRODUCTION On December 12, 2000, the former Minister of Finance, the Honourable Ernie Eves, commissioned a review of the property assessment process. The mandate for this project included a review of the following aspects of the assessment system: C the operational structure of the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation (OPAC); C the relationship between OPAC and the provincial government; and C the regulation defining property classifications (Ontario Regulation 282/98). A three-month mandate was provided for this review. During this period of time, it was not possible to address the broad spectrum of assessment and tax policy issues that were raised by stakeholders with respect to O. Reg. 282/98. Therefore, the review concentrated on the operational structure of the assessment corporation and the relationship of that corporation with the provincial government. A report on this review was delivered to the former Minister of Finance, the Honourable James Flaherty, on April 2, 2001. Upon analysis of the recommendations contained in the report of April 2, 2001,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Do Good Intentions Beget Good Policy? Two Steps Forward and One Step Back in the Construction of Domestic Violence in Ontario
    Do Good Intentions Beget Good Policy? Two Steps Forward and One Step Back in the Construction of Domestic Violence in Ontario by April Lucille Girard-Brown A thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen‟s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada January, 2012 Copyright ©April Lucille Girard-Brown, 2012 Abstract The construction of domestic violence shifted and changed as this issue was forced from the private shadows to the public stage. This dissertation explores how government policy initiatives - Bill 117: An Act to Better Protect Victims of Domestic Violence and the Domestic Violence Action Plan (DVAP) - shaped our understanding of domestic violence as a social problem in the first decade of the twenty-first century in Ontario. Specifically, it asks whose voices were heard, whose were silenced, how domestic violence was conceptualized by various stakeholders. In order to do this I analyzed the texts of Bill 117, its debates, the DVAP, as well as fourteen in-depth interviews with anti- violence advocates in Ontario to shed light on their construction of the domestic violence problem. Then I examined who (both state and non-state actors) regarded the work as „successful‟, flawed or wholly ineffective. In particular, I focused on the claims and counter-claims advanced by MPPs, other government officials, feminist or other women‟s group advocates and men‟s or fathers‟ rights group supporters and organizations. The key themes derived from the textual analysis of documents and the interviews encapsulate the key issues which formed the dominant construction of domestic violence in Ontario between 2000 and 2009: the never-ending struggles over funding, debates surrounding issues of rights and responsibilities, solutions proposed to address domestic violence, and finally the continued appearance of deserving and undeserving victims in public policy.
    [Show full text]
  • Freedom Flyer
    FREEDOM MAY 2003 - special Election edition - FLYER Inside: Freedom Party PRE-ELECTION News Coverage #35 - THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE FREEDOM PARTY OF ONTARIO Fp RE-ASSEMBLY -Paul McKeever {Paul McKeever is leader of the Freedom Party of Ontario. The following address was delivered to attendees at Freedom Party's kick-off election workshop held in Belleville on September 21, 2002. (Media coverage of the event appears elsewhere in this newsletter.) Thanks to the remarkable col/apse of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party orchestrated by Ernie Eves, NOW is the time that we have been preparing for over the past 15 years: the time for Freedom Party to lake its RiGHTful place in Ontario politics. To learn more, please read on. .} Leading in the right direction: Freedom Party Leader Paul McKeever That foundation is not constituted of the rotten wood of class envy. Indeed, we recognize no classes among Ladies and Gentlemen: hum ank ind . Our fo un dation is rather one of polished Time and events have drawn us together. And granite, renecting our clear recognition of the rights neces­ though each of us is sure to lay eyes upon an unfamiliar sary for the peaceful survival and happiness of every face today, and to exchange names for the very first time, individual. ours is not an assembly, but are-assembly: These rights are the natural compliment to human­ - a reassembly of individuals associated not by kind 's mode of li ving: the rights of life, liberty, and application and fee , but by virtue of their common commit­ property.
    [Show full text]
  • City of Toronto Submission Regarding the Review of Property Tax Classifications (Phase 2 of the Province's Review of the Assessment System)
    CITY CLERK Clause embodied in Report No. 12 of the Policy and Finance Committee, as adopted by the Council of the City of Toronto at its meeting held on October 2, 3 and 4, 2001. 5 City of Toronto Submission Regarding the Review of Property Tax Classifications (Phase 2 of the Province's Review of the Assessment System) (City Council on October 2, 3 and 4, 2001, amended this Clause by adding thereto the following: “It is further recommended that a copy of the Clause be forwarded to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), with a request that AMO support City Council’s position in this regard.”) The Policy and Finance Committee recommends: (1) the adoption of the report (September 11, 2001) from the Acting Chief Administrative Officer and the Acting Financial Officer; and (2) that City Council request the Province of Ontario to amend assessment legislation to require property owners, claiming vacant status for commercial and industrial buildings, to notify the municipality at the beginning of the period to be claimed, to enable the municipality to confirm the vacant status of the property. The Policy and Finance Committee submits the following report (September 11, 2001) from the Acting Chief Administrative Officer and Acting Chief Financial Officer: Purpose: To provide a submission to be presented to Mr. Marcel Beaubien, M.P.P. for Lambton-Kent- Middlesex, to be considered within the context of the second phase of the Province’s review of the assessment system. Financial Implications: None Recommendation: It is recommended that: (1) the submission presented in Appendix C of this report be adopted; and Toronto City Council 2 Policy and Finance Committee October 2, 3 and 4, 2001 Report No.
    [Show full text]
  • 2003 Ontario Budget the Right Choices: Securing Our Future Budget Papers
    2003 Ontario Budget The Right Choices: Securing our Future Budget Papers The Honourable Janet Ecker Minister of Finance General inquiries regarding the 2003 Ontario Budget: Budget Papers should be directed to: Ministry of Finance Information Centre Toll-free English & French inquiries 1-800-337-7222 Teletypewriter (TTY) 1-800-263-7776 For electronic copies of this document, visit our Web site at http://www.gov.on.ca/FIN/hmpage.html Printed copies are available free from: Publications Ontario 880 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M7A 1N8 Telephone: (416) 326-5300 Toll-free: 1-800-668-9938 TTY Toll-free: 1-800-268-7095 Web site: www.publications.gov.on.ca © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2003 ISBN 0-7794-4493-0 Ce document est disponible en français sous le titre : Budget de l’Ontario 2003 – Documents budgétaires Table of Contents A Strong Economic Growth Continues: Ontario’s Economic & Revenue Outlook ......... 1 Appendix ..................................................................... 25 B Ontario’s Fiscal Plan ........................................................... 29 Appendices: Financial Tables and Graphs ........................................ 61 C Choosing Prosperity, Competitiveness and Job Creation ........................... 79 D Ontario’s Financing Plan ...................................................... 107 Appendix: Financial Tables ..................................................... 117 E Creating Jobs and Prosperity Through Strategic Long-Term Tax Reductions ........ 147 F Progress Through Partnership: Implementing Multi-Year Base Funding in Ontario ... 171 Paper A Strong Economic Growth Continues: Ontario’s Economic and Revenue Outlook 2 2003 Ontario Budget Paper A: Strong Economic Growth Continues: Ontario's Economic and Revenue Outlook 3 Overview: Ontario’s Plan for Jobs and Growth In 1995, the Ontario Government set a target of creating 725,000 net new jobs over the next five years.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Accounts of the Province of Ontario for the Year Ended March 31 1997
    PUBLIC ACCOUNTS, 1996-97 31 MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS Hon. Noble Villeneuve DETAILS OF EXPENDITURE Voted Salaries and Wages ($78,915,969) Temporary Help Services ($763,901): Management Board Secretariat, 646,291; Accounts under $50,000—117,610. Payments to Other Ministries ($73,697): Community and Social Services, 73,697. Employee Benefits ($21,750,797) Payments for Canada Pension Plan, 1,488,108; Dental Plan, 938,028; Employer Health Tax, 1,438,821; Employment Insurance, 2,430,800; Group Life Insurance, 144,211; Long Term Income Protection, 965,077; Ontario Public Service Employees' Union Pension Fund/Public Service Pension Fund, 995,760; Supplementary Health and Hospital Plan, 1,110,747; 2% Payment in Lieu of Benefits, 30,301. Other Benefits: Attendance Gratuities, 537,377; Death Benefits, 15,070; Early Retirement Incentive, 13,654; Maternity/Parental/Adoption Leave Allowances, 537,161; Severance Pay, 10,594,510; Miscellaneous Benefits, 37,288. Workers' Compensation Board, 473,884. Travelling Expenses ($3,399,062) Hon. Noble Villeneuve, 27,500; K. Knox, 7,617; D.K. Alles, 13,533; P.M. Angus, 23,572; S. Banks, 12,545; D.A. Bierworth, 10,928; JL. Cushing, 13,307; J.R. Dalrymple, 10,892; B. Green, 13,130; N.W. Hoag, 15,813; G.A. Howlett, 12,110; M.G. Hurt, 10,984; F.J. Ingratta, 14,023; J. Lepine, 28,442; M.K. Loh, 22,005; C. Maxwell, 14,633; J. Mazzei, 11,487; C. Peloquin, 11,459; R.G. Quinton, 20,074; L. Roozen, 12,874; B.W. Stonehouse, 11,930; H.Y.
    [Show full text]
  • 2003 Ontario Budget the Right Choices: Securing Our Future Budget Papers
    2003 Ontario Budget The Right Choices: Securing our Future Budget Papers The Honourable Janet Ecker Minister of Finance General inquiries regarding the 2003 Ontario Budget: Budget Papers should be directed to: Ministry of Finance Information Centre Toll-free English & French inquiries 1-800-337-7222 Teletypewriter (TTY) 1-800-263-7776 For electronic copies of this document, visit our Web site at http://www.gov.on.ca/FIN/hmpage.html Printed copies are available free from: Publications Ontario 880 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario M7A 1N8 Telephone: (416) 326-5300 Toll-free: 1-800-668-9938 TTY Toll-free: 1-800-268-7095 Web site: www.publications.gov.on.ca © Queen’s Printer for Ontario, 2003 ISBN 0-7794-4493-0 Ce document est disponible en français sous le titre : Budget de l’Ontario 2003 – Documents budgétaires Table of Contents A Strong Economic Growth Continues: Ontario’s Economic & Revenue Outlook ......... 1 Appendix ..................................................................... 25 B Ontario’s Fiscal Plan ........................................................... 29 Appendices: Financial Tables and Graphs ........................................ 61 C Choosing Prosperity, Competitiveness and Job Creation ........................... 79 D Ontario’s Financing Plan ...................................................... 107 Appendix: Financial Tables ..................................................... 117 E Creating Jobs and Prosperity Through Strategic Long-Term Tax Reductions ........ 147 F Progress Through Partnership: Implementing Multi-Year Base Funding in Ontario ... 171 Paper A Strong Economic Growth Continues: Ontario’s Economic and Revenue Outlook 2 2003 Ontario Budget Paper A: Strong Economic Growth Continues: Ontario's Economic and Revenue Outlook 3 Overview: Ontario’s Plan for Jobs and Growth In 1995, the Ontario Government set a target of creating 725,000 net new jobs over the next five years.
    [Show full text]
  • The Use of Personal Anecdotes in the Ontario Legislative Assembly
    The Use of Autobiographical Stories in First Speeches to the Ontario Legislative Assembly Belinda Ellsworth 2011-2012 Intern Ontario Legislature Internship Programme (OLIP) 1303A Whitney Block, Queen’s Park Toronto, Ontario M7A 1A2 [email protected] www.olipinterns.ca Draft version: Please do not cite without the author’s permission Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, 15 June 2012, Edmonton, Alberta Introduction Brian Mulroney famously once said, “When I was driving a truck, John Turner was dancing with Princess Margaret.”1 This strategic reference to two contrasting personal histories allowed Mulroney to draw a sharp contrast between himself and his opponent. The inferences here regarding their differing values and capacities to understand the struggles of average citizens are apparent without being explicit. The intersection between the public and private spheres in political settings can be tense ground, and examples such as this one show how autobiographical anecdotes can be rendered politically relevant. Private lives are used as shorthand for political values and suitability for public office. To better understand how autobiographical stories can be invoked in the public sphere, this paper will analyze the use of personal details in parliamentary first speeches, also known as maiden speeches. By analyzing 168 first speeches delivered by newly elected members of the Ontario Legislative Assembly during four different sessions, this will provide insight into the act of “strategic self disclosure” as practiced by elected officials in the Ontario context. These Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) lack established records as legislators, so instead they must leverage examples from their personal and professional experiences to assert an identity and demonstrate their credentials.
    [Show full text]