Report to: General Committee Date of Meeting: November 3, 2008

SUBJECT: Tax Write-Offs in Accordance with Section 354 of the Municipal Act, 2001

PREPARED BY: Paul Wealleans, Director, Taxation

RECOMMENDATIONS:

THAT taxes totalling $248,197.10 (includes penalty and interest in the amount of $10.62) as set out in this report be written off pursuant to the provisions of Section 354 of the Municipal Act, 2001, of which the Town’s portion is $178,195.17.

AND THAT the applicable penalty and/or interest charges be adjusted accordingly;

AND THAT the Treasurer be directed to remove the taxes from the Collector’s Roll.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

This report requests Council authorization for the write-off of uncollectible taxes.

PURPOSE:

Provisions under Section 354 of the Municipal Act, 2001 allow for the write-off of taxes deemed uncollectible. This report recommends the write-off of $248,186.48 of taxes (excluding penalty and interest) of which the Town of Markham share is $178,195.17.

BACKGROUND:

Under Section 354 of the Municipal Act, the Treasurer has the authority to recommend to Council that uncollectible taxes be written off after an unsuccessful tax sale whether or not the property vests with the municipality, or are no longer payable as the result of a provision tax relief or a decision of any court. Taxes levied on property of the Crown can also be written off.

The attached list of taxes (Appendix A), reviewed by staff of the Tax Office, is a “Summary of Uncollectible Taxes”. The list includes uncollectible taxes due to properties vested to the Town of Markham, or Payment in Lieu of Taxes for Crown lands (PIL).

It is recommended that Council approve the cancellation of the uncollectible taxes and remove them from the Tax Collector’s Roll.

OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:

Taxes being recommended for write-off are due to assessment errors or reclassification of Payment-In- Lieu properties. The amounts of taxes to be written off total $248,186.48 (excluding penalty). Of this total the Town’s share is $178,195.17. The balance of $69,991.31 will be charged to the Region of York and School Boards accordingly.

The following summarizes the categories and levying bodies for the write offs:

Levying Body	Total Taxes
Town Region Education Total	$178,195.17 $60,991.31 $9,000.00 $248,186.48
Penalty/Interest	$10.62
Total	$248,197.10
Reason	Total Taxes
Assessed Incorrectly (Payment in Lieu) Town Property	$242,445.43 $5,751.67
Total	$248,197.10

Write offs for payment in lieu properties are adjustments resulting from billing errors as a result of incorrect classification by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) for properties owned by Management Board Secretariat. This represents a total of $242,445.53 or 98% of the total write-off amount of $248,197.10.

The balance of the write offs in the amount of $5,751.67 or 2% must be written off because these properties were transferred to the Town of Markham and became exempt from tax. Interest accrued by these properties is quite low ($10.64) as once transferred, no taxes or interest are applied.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable.

ACCESSIBILITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable.

ENGAGE 21^st CONSIDERATIONS:

Not applicable.

Appendix A: Summary of Tax Write-offs

Q:\Finance\SHARED\2008 General Committee Finance\858 Tax Write-Offs in Accordance with Section 354 of the Municipal Act, 2001.doc

Appendix A: Summary of Tax Write-offs


Roll Number	Address	Total	Reason For Appeal

030-126-85200	8000 Warden	$ 108,061.56	Assessment Error (PIL)
030-256-85200	8000 Warden	$ 106,226.50	Assessment Error (PIL)
020-113-25050	0 Bayview Ave	$ 28,157.37	Assessment Error (PIL)

020-127-21500	20 Main St Union	$ 4,759.22	Became Exempt -Town Property
030-256-77140	0 Bur Oak Ave	$ 122.34	Became Exempt -Town Property
030-232-99300	9350 Highway 7	$ 870.11	Became Exempt -Town Property