Report to: General Committee Report Date: May 17, 2010

SUBJECT: June 2010 - Cancellation, Reduction or Refund of Taxes under Sections 357 and 358 of the Municipal Act, 2001

PREPARED BY: Paul Wealleans, Director, Taxation

RECOMMENDATIONS:

THAT taxes totalling approximately $406,698.22 be adjusted under Section 357 (in the amount of $344,373.56) and Section 358 (in the amount of $62,324.66) of the Municipal Act, 2001 of which the Town’s portion is estimated to be $53,406.93;

AND THAT the associated interest be cancelled in proportion to the tax adjustments;

AND THAT the Treasurer be directed to adjust the Collector’s Roll accordingly;

AND THAT staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.

1. Purpose 2. Background 3. Discussion 4. Financial 5. Environmental

6. Accessibility 7^. Engage ^21st 8. Affected Units 9. Attachment(s)

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to authorize the Treasurer to adjust the Collector’s Roll under Sections 357 and 358 of the Municipal Act, 2001.

BACKGROUND:

Sections 357 and 358 of the Municipal Act, 2001 allow for the reduction, cancellation or refund of taxes. Section 357 permits tax adjustments for the following reasons:

· if a property or portion of a property is eligible to be reclassified in a different class of property, and that class has a lower tax ratio for the taxation year than the class the property or portion of the property was in before the change, and if no supplementary assessment is made in respect of the change under subsection 34(2) of the Assessment Act;

· property that has become vacant land or excess land during the year;

· property that has become exempt from taxation during the year;

· building that during the year was razed by fire, Demolition or otherwise, or was damaged by fire, Demolition or otherwise so as to render it substantially unusable for the purposes for which it was used immediately prior to the damage;

· person who was unable to pay taxes because of sickness or extreme poverty;

· mobile unit that was removed from the municipality during the year;

· property overcharged by reason of any gross or manifest error that is a clerical error, the transposition of figures, a typographical error or similar type of error, but not an error in judgment in making the assessment upon which the taxes have been levied; or

· in respect of a property which by reason of repairs or renovations could not be used for its normal use for a period of at least three months during the year.

Section 358 of Municipal Act, 2001 permits applications for tax adjustment by property owners who are overcharged by reason of any gross or manifest error in the preparation of the assessment roll by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) that was an error of fact, which may include but is not limited to, clerical errors, the transposition of figure or typographical errors, but not an error in judgment in making the assessment upon which the taxes have been levied. These applications relate to taxes levied in each or either of the two years preceding the year in which the application is made.

OPTIONS /DISCUSSION:

The attached schedules identify the year of taxation, the assessment roll number of each property, the reason for the tax appeal and the tax adjustment. The tax value includes the Town, Region and School Board share of taxes. There are four main reasons for these applications: (1) “Became Exempt”- these are properties that were assessed on the assessment roll as taxable but became exempt during the year. They are properties that either were transferred during the year from a taxable owner to the Town and therefore became exempt from tax (generally lands as part of subdivision agreements) or lands purchased by a school board and became exempt; (2) “Classification Correction” is where the property or a portion of the property was eligible to be reclassified in a different class of real property, (3) “Overcharged By Error” is the result of errors by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) on the assessment roll which caused an overcharge of taxes, (4) “Razed Demolished” which relates to the demolition of a building on a property that reduced the tax burden. All such applications include a Town Demolition Permit.

There are three applications listed that have no associated tax adjustment. These are applications reviewed by MPAC and determined to be not eligible for relief.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The Town of Markham’s portion of taxes for the taxation years 2004 through 2009 is estimated to be $53,406.93. The amount of taxes adjusted for both the Region of York and School Boards will be reflected on the 2009 payment submissions to these bodies.

Tax Adjustments under Section 357 /358 of the Municipal Act
Town	$53,406.93
Region	$ 106,011.64
Education	$ 247,279.65
Total	$ 406,698.22

Sufficient funds are available in the Tax Writeoff Account No. 850 850 7051.

HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS:
Not applicable

ALINMENT WITH STATEGIC PRIORITIES:

Not applicable

BUISNESS UNIT CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

None

RECOMMENDED BY:

q:\finance\shared\2010 general committee finance\1023 june 2010 tax cancellation under s 357 s 38 of mun act.doc

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A – “Tax Adjustments”

Appendix B – “Tax Adjustment Under Section 357 & Section 358 of the Municipal Act, 2001 ”

Appendix A
Tax Adjustments Under the Municipal Act
For June 7, 2010
General Committee Meeting
Finance Department
Report Total
Count	Description	Amount
13	Became Exempt	-$236,314.14
8	Classification Correction	-$107,530.89
6	Overcharged by Error	-$10,906.60
4	Razed Demolished	-$23,177.59
3	No Recommendation	$0.00
2	Gross/Manifest Error	-$26,454.21
1	Damaged by Fire/Demolition	-$2,314.79
37	Grand Total	-$406,698.22

Appendix B
Tax Adjustments under the Municipal Act
For June 7, 2010 General Committee Meeting
Tax Appeals: Section 357 – Residential
Tax Year	Application #	Roll Number	Property Address	Reason		Total Amount
2009	3579	1936-030-240-14000	5126 Elgin Mills Rd E	Razed Demolished		-$625.29
2009	3607	1936-030-222-22943	0 George Martin Dr	Became Exempt		-$1,150.28
2009	3726	1936-040-280-28600	39 Windridge Dr	Razed Demolished		-$3,068.18
2009	3732	1936-030-213-67700	7811 Kennedy Rd	Became Exempt		-$6,457.74
2009	3736	1936-010-087-85500	16 Blue Spruce Lane	Razed Demolished		-$2,871.21
2009	3738	1936-040-310-42300	2 Banfield Ave	Overcharged by Error		-$37.84
2008	3746	1936-030-212-17722	0 Karachi Dr	Became Exempt		-$262.47
2009	3748	1936-040-341-07100	56 Captain Rolph Blv	Gross/Manifest Error		-$2,720.65
2009	3653	1936-030-260-44096	2665 Bur Oak Ave	Became Exempt		-$5,770.91
2009	3648	1936-020-180-83700	243 Main St Union	Became Exempt		-$625.59
Total						-$23,590.16
Tax Appeals: Section 357 – Non-Residential
Tax Year	Application #	Roll Number	Property Address	Reason		Total Amount
2007	3378	1936-020-111-22618	76 Steelcase Road W	Classification Correction		-$1,891.26
2008	3379	1936-020-111-22618	76 Steelcase Road W	Classification Correction		-$3,107.50
2008	3507	1936-020-126-49560	3335 14th Ave	Damaged by fire/Demolition		-$2,314.79
2008	3641	1936-020-126-88000	8080 Warden Ave	Became Exempt		-$163,136.41
2008	3620	1936-020-126-95000	0 Enterprise Blvd	No Recommendation		$0.00
2008	3621	1936-020-126-95050	162 Enterprise Blvd	No Recommendation		$0.00
2009	3710	1936-020-127-97126	PL 65M3998 BLK 8	Became Exempt		-$1,984.92
2009	3709	1936-020-127-97141	PL 65M3998 BLK 9	Became Exempt		-$2,226.52
2009	3708	1936-020-127-97156	PL 65M3998 BLK 10	Became Exempt		-$2,229.27
2009	3636	1936-030-232-23855	0 Hillwood St	Gross/Manifest Error		-$23,733.56
2009	3744	1936-030-258-10656	0 Markham By Pass	Became Exempt		-$788.77
2009	3745	1936-030-258-10685	0 Almira Ave	Became Exempt		-$225.36
2009	3742	1936-020-126-49570	3315 14th Ave	No Recommendation		$0.00
Total						-$201,638.36
Tax Appeals: Section 357 – PIL Residential
Tax Year	Application #	Roll Number	Property Address	Reason		Total Amount
2009	3586	1936-020-113-25050	Bayview Ave E/S	Classification Correction		-$7,182.88
2008	3556	1936-020-113-25050	Bayview Ave E/S	Classification Correction		-$5,721.18
2007	3557	1936-020-113-25050	Bayview Ave E/S	Classification Correction		-$5,506.71
2009	3734	1936-020-126-89900	0 Warden W/S	Classification Correction		-$21,759.17
Total						-$40,169.94
Tax Appeals: Section 357 – PIL Non-Residential
Tax Year	Application #	Roll Number	Property Address	Reason		Total Amount
2009	3718	1936-030-233-43900	9577 Hwy 48	Classification Correction		-$44,277.60
2009	3719	1936-020-128-00506	14th Ave	Classification Correction		-$18,084.59
2009	3720	1936-040-270-00600	237 Main St.	Razed Demolished		-$16,612.91
Total						-$78,975.10
		Total:	Section 357			-$344,373.56
Tax Appeals: Section 358 – Residential
Tax Year	Application #	Roll Number	Property Address		Reason	Total Amount
2006	3520	1936-030-212-52400	4757 14th Ave		Overcharged by Error	-$7,440.04
2008	3651	1936-030-237-07800	10235 Highway 48		Overcharged by Error	-$200.69
2009	3754	1936-030-235-05500	6286 Major Mackenzie		Overcharged by Error	-$987.59
2008	3763	1936-030-256-21586	478 White's Hill Ave		Overcharged by Error	-$373.76
2009	3768	1936-020-111-00860	118 Snowshoe Cres		Overcharged by Error	-$1,866.68
Total						-$10,868.76
Tax Appeals: Section 358 – Non-Residential
Tax Year	Application #	Roll Number	Property Address	Reason		Total Amount
2004	2959	1936-020-140-16500	44 Main Street Union	Became Exempt		-$25,476.18
2005	2960	1936-020-140-16500	44 Main Street Union	Became Exempt		-$25,979.72
Total						-$51,455.90
		Total:	Section 358			-$62,324.66
				Total : Section 357		-$344,373.56
				Total : Section 358		-$62,324.66
				Grand Total		-$406,698.22

COMMITTEE/COUNCIL ITEM TRACKING FORM

Revised: September 2009

COUNCIL	DEVELOPMENT SERVICES Planning Economic Dev. Transportation	GENERAL Community Services Environment & Sustainability Finance & Administrative X Lands, Building & Parks Construction
TARGET MEETING DATE June 7, 2010	DATE REPORT AUTHORED May 17, 2010	ITEM TITLE June 2010 – Cancellation or Refund of Taxes Under S357 / 358 of Municipal Act
AGENDA SECTION			TIME TO BE ALLOCATED
Presentation/Deputation Consent Regular X			5 minutes
CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS For in camera reports, please indicate appropriate subsection of s239(2) Municipal Act (√ all applicable): (a) Security of Property (e) Litigation or potential litigation (b) Personal matters about individual (f) Solicitor-client privilege (c) Acquisition/disposition of land (g) Legislated authority to be in camera (d) Labour relations/Employee negotiations
ORIGINATOR J. Lustig Ext. 4735		CONTACT P. Wealleans Ext. 4734

DOES THE REPORT, PRESENTATION, BY-LAW AFFECT OTHER DEPTS:

Yes No (List all departments impacted and being consulted on this report.)

Electronic Approval Required by:

Department	Individual	Obtained
Treasurer	Joel Lustig
Commissioner, Corporate Services	Andy Taylor
CAO	John Livey

Attachments:

Comments & Questions: