Top candidates in major cities say they will minimize increases.
asserted
they → say → increases
It’s a popular promise, but there’s a property tax reckoning due that ratepayers can’t keep avoiding.
asserted
ratepayers → ’ → that
In Toronto, Mayor Olivia Chow is seeking re-election with a promise to keep tax increases near the rate of inflation.
asserted
Chow → seek → inflation
Her opponent, Brad Bradford, offers a one-year tax freeze.
asserted
opponent → offer → freeze
Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has promised two years of increases limited to 2.5 per cent if re-elected.
asserted
Sutcliffe → promise → cent
Even Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath, a former Ontario NDP leader, vows to keep tax increases below the rate of inflation if she gets back in office.
asserted
she → vow → office
Unfortunately, there’s a major issue lurking just below the surface, one that will upend the stability Ontarians are being promised.
asserted
Ontarians → ’ → stability
Property taxes in the future will go up substantially for some, down for others.
asserted
taxes → go → others
It’s only a question of when.
asserted
It → ’ → when
The property value assessments that municipal taxes are based on are wildly outdated and Premier Doug Ford has failed to come to grips with the problem.
asserted
Ford → base → problem
In fact, he started it.
asserted
he → start → it
Ontario properties had typically been reassessed every four years, with the results phased in over the following four years.
asserted
results → reassess → years
As a result, people whose property values went up more than average paid higher taxes and those below average got a tax reduction.
asserted
those → go → reduction
There should have been an updated assessment in 2020, but Ford put it off, citing the pandemic.
asserted
Ford → update → pandemic
That was reasonable, but he kept delaying the timing of the next assessment.
asserted
he → keep → assessment
There still isn’t a date set, even though the average home price in Ontario has gone up by 91 per cent since the last assessment in 2016.
asserted
price → set → 2016
Due to Ford’s inaction, Ontarians pay property taxes not on the value of their house or condo today, but on what it was worth back in 2016.
asserted
it → pay → 2016
It’s as if time stopped a decade ago.
asserted
time → ’ → ?
Even more bizarre is that Ontario’s property assessment corporation has to determine the value of new homes by trying to figure out what they might have been worth in 2016.
uncertain
they → determine → 2016
The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) runs this time-travel exercise.
asserted
Corporation → run → exercise
The non-profit entity gets almost all its $262.5-million budget from municipalities — in other words, from Ontarians’ property taxes.
asserted
entity → get → taxes
Toronto alone pays over $51 million and Ottawa $15.2 million.
asserted
Toronto → pay → million
Ford has left himself with no easy choices.
asserted
Ford → leave → choices
If he goes back to the old system now, a decade of price inflation will leave some awfully big tax increases for those who have done well in real estate.
asserted
who → go → estate
That’s a problem for the premier, who likes to boast that he has never raised taxes.
asserted
he → ’ → taxes
Even if he isn’t raising them directly, he’s likely to get the blame.
asserted
he → raise → blame
Ford could continue to ignore the problem, but that would mean people with inflated home values would keep paying less than they should while those whose home price increase is below average would pay more than their share.
uncertain
increase → continue → share
What if there were another way to fix this, one that would make Ontario property taxes simple, equitable and predictable?
asserted
taxes → be → this
Let’s start with simplicity.
asserted
’s → start → simplicity
It uses 200 criteria to determine a property’s value.
asserted
It → use → value
Also in the mix are whether homes have pools, fireplaces, garages, and whether the lot is considered premium.
asserted
lot → have → pools
With about 5.6-million residential properties to assess, it’s a mountain of costly busy work.
asserted
it → assess → work
The theory is that people with more expensive houses should pay higher taxes, but why should people pay for fire service, roads, transit and police based on perceived wealth?
asserted
people → pay → wealth
What about the person who bought a modest family home 50 years ago and has seen the value shoot up because they live close to downtown?
asserted
they → buy → downtown
The house might be worth a lot, but that doesn’t help pay the taxes, especially if the owner lives on government pensions.
uncertain
owner → help → pensions
Do people who live in expensive homes have more house fires, make more police calls or use transit more frequently?
asserted
who → live → transit
Everyone has equal access to municipal services.
asserted
Everyone → have → services
It follows that every residential property should pay equal taxes, too.
asserted
property → follow → taxes
Dividing the municipal residential property tax requirement by the number of housing units would mean adjusting taxes up for some and down for others.
asserted
Dividing → divide → others
The assessment system has the same effect, but the difference is in the end point.
asserted
difference → have → point
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
