• property address,
• roll number and
• type of document (Statement of Issues, Response or Withdrawal).

Return to Top

New President of MPAC

Carl Isenburg, who was Vice President of Customer Relations and Acting President, has now officially been appointed President of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation. Official notification is soon to follow.

Return to Top

New Chair for Ontario Assessment Review Board

In June 2004, Richard (Rick) Stephenson was appointed Chair of the Ontario Assessment Review Board. Mr. Stephenson has been a member of the ARB since 1993. He replaces Marie Hubbard who was acting chair for the past six months. Ms. Hubbard remains acting chair of the Ontario Municipal Board.

Return to Top

ARB Streaming Strategy for 2004 Complaints

The ARB has set out the 'streaming strategy' in a memorandum dated June 11, 2004, to deal with the resolution of its caseload in 2004. As of June 11, 2004, they had received 76,000 complaints for 2004.

The following are the guidelines which will be considered for the new caseload as well as the outstanding caseload from previous years.

• 2004 complaints will be consolidated with previous years' complaints whenever possible, including those proceeding through the pre-hearing process. The status of the previous years' complaints will determine the process and timing of the consolidation
• residential complaints will continue to be grouped and scheduled by neighbourhood and will provide 30 - 60 days notice of hearings
• Properties having both specific property codes, as identified below in Table 1, and certain threshold assessed values will be streamed for pre-hearings. For Toronto, Ottawa, Hamilton, London and the regions of York, Halton, Peel, Niagara and Essex, the assessed value of $1M will be used to identify complaints for pre-hearing. In all other areas of the Province, an assessed value of $500,000 will be used.




Property Type	Property Code	Description
Vacant Lands	105,106 112	Vacant commercial/industrial Vacant multi-res
Multi-residential	340 352,361 373,374 381,382 385,836	Multi-res but not row housing Row housing >7 units, bachelorette Co-op housing Mobile Homes Timeshare
Commercial	400,401 405,406 410 411,412 415 420,421 422 428,429,430,431 440 470 471,472,472 475 481 486 488 489 490 491 497,498	Office Building, Medical/Dental Converted House - Office, Retail Retail Restaurant Concert/Theatre/Movie/Drive-In Service Station, Specialty Auto Shop Auto Dealerships Shopping Centres, Dept. Store Hotel Multi-type complex Retail with residential, offices, more than 1 non-retail use Commercial condominium Parking garage Campground Pipeline, transmission, field & gathering Pipeline Gold Course Ski Resort Railway Right-of-Way, Land/Buildings
Industrial	500	All codes within 500 series
Institutional	600	All codes within 600 series
Special Purpose	700	All codes within 700 series
	800	All codes within 800 series




• Parties will not normally be consulted on dates for pre-hearings, but the Board will provide 100 days notice. The Board intends to commence scheduling pre-hearings for properties that meet the above criteria in the fall of 2004.
• Parties will be encouraged to consult and produce procedural orders by consent under the Rules of Practice and Procedure, to set mutually agreeable dates for first appearances before the ARB by teleconference calls.
• Parties may continue to write to the Board and request a pre-hearing for any property. Such requests must outline the basis for the request and must be copied to all other parties.
• Where practical, the Board will schedule complaints filed by representatives into the same hearing event
• Complaints filed by municipalities will be streamed into pre-hearings. Requests for conversion to a hearing will be considered by the Board upon consent of the parties

Return to Top

Ontario's Budget - 2004

We are attaching in PDF format, a copy of the property assessment and taxation changes from the May 2004 Ontario budget.
Property Tax Excerpt - 2004 Ontario Budget

Return to Top

ON-Provincial Budget - Key Points

Assessment Cycle Timelines Altered:

• Valuation Date currently June 30th of preceding tax year
• For taxation in 2006, assessments will be based on values as of January 1st of preceding taxation year2005 Assessments
• Reassessment for 2005 postponed
• Outstanding assessment appeals will be deemedAssessment Averaging
• Implementation date deferred to a date to be prescribed by Ministry of Finance

• Municipalities given range of options, ie.
  • Capping of assessment-related tax increases:
    • Increase annual cap from 5% to up to 10%
    • Implement minimum annual increase of up to 5% of CVA-level taxes
    • Move capped or clawed-back properties directly to CVA taxes if they are within $250 of their CVA taxes
  • Phase out 'new construction treatment' by creating floors establishing minimum % of CVA tax responsibility. Eligible properties would be taxed at:
  • Up to 70% of CVA-level taxes in 2005
  • Up to 80% of CVA-level taxes in 2006
  • Up to 90% of CVA-level taxes in 2007
  • Up to 100% of CVA-level taxes in 2008 and beyond
  • Capping for tenants will mirror options chosen by municipality for the property class
  • Small business - municipality given option of applying graduated tax rates at optional property tax class level
  • Brownfields - government to move forward with proclamation to allow municipalities to freeze or cancel municipal property taxes on eligible brownfield properties.
  • Conservation Land
    • Government intends to enhance eligibility criteria for property tax exemption programs for lands with natural and environment significance owned by conservation authorities and trust
    • To be implemented through regulation for 2005

Return to Top

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) Segregates Manager Responsibilities

We have been advised that MPAC Managers’ responsibilities have now been segregated. If you require information on your properties, please refer your questions to the Manager indicated below.

Property Type	Manager Name	Manager Telephone No.
Small commercial - Assessment Office Regions 1 to 7, inclusive	Dale Allen (Ottawa)	613-742-1001 X 2106
Small commercial – Assessment Office Regions 9, 13, 14, 15 and 16	Vicki Kamperogianis (Toronto)	416-250-2150 X 6030
Small industrial – Assessment Office Regions 9, 13, 14, 15 and 16	Joe Regina (Pickering)	905-837-6977
Small commercial and industrial properties - Assessment Office Regions 18 – 22, inclusive	Sara M’Larkey (Cambridge)	519-623-8388 X 250
Small commercial and industrial properties - Assessment Office 23 – 27, inclusive	John McClenaghan (Sarnia)	519-336-3351 X 11
Small commercial and industrial properties -Assessment Offices 17 and 28 to 32, inclusive	Joe Rossanese (Sudbury)	705-675-4200 X 222

Return to Top

Assessment Highlights and the Impact of 2004

Click on the html below to view information indicating the impact of the reassessment by property class as well as geographic area.  This presentation was delivered by Larry Hummel, Vice President Property Values of the Ontario Municipal Property Assessment/Corporation.

http://www.mpac.ca/pdf/pvstakeholderforum2003.pdf

Return to Top

Interim Chair Appointed to OMB/ARB

The Attorney General, Michael Bryant, announced on November 14th, 2003 that Marie Hubbard has been appointed the Interim Chair of the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) and Assessment Review Board (ARB). This appointment is effective November 15th, 2003.  Ms. Hubbard replaces David Johnson whose three-year term has expired.

Return to Top

2004 Notices of Assessment – In the Mail!

You should start to receive your Notices of Assessment for 2004, which are currently being mailed out by MPAC.  Along with the Notices, you will be receiving the “Understanding Your Property Assessment Notice” pamphlet released by MPAC. (Click Here to view a PDF version of the pamphlet.)

Return to Top

QUEBEC

Notice for Property Owners

AEC Montreal is on the move

Effective January 3rd, 2005, our new address will be:

1425, boul. René-Lévesque Ouest
Suite 503
Montreal, Quebec
H3G 1T7

Telephone number: 514-392-0170
Fax number: 514-392-9880
Email address will remain the same.

Return to Top

New Assessment Roll for 2005

While most major municipalities in Quebec deposited new assessment rolls in 2004, there are still many municipalities in the province that will be depositing their 2005 assessment rolls before the end of September. Those property owners whose properties are assessed at over $1,000,000 can expect to receive a Notice of Assessment on or before November 1st, 2004. Property owners owning a property assessed at less than $1,000,000, information on the assessment will be provided by the City either via Internet or telephone. It is important that all taxpayers review their assessments and, if some inequity of assessment is suspected, a Review of Assessment can be filed prior to April 30, 2005.

Return to Top

Longueuil

It is reported that the City of Longueuil, one of the largest cities in the area, will not deposit a new assessment roll in September. Therefore, the 2001 assessment roll is frozen for the fifth year in a row.

Return to Top

Cities with New Assessment Roll in 2005 - 2007

The attached is a rather extensive list of cities in the province of Quebec and the date of their new assessment roll.
Cities with New Assessment Roll

Return to Top

SASKATCHEWAN

Assessment Notices and Appeals

Regina and Saskatoon property owners should have received their notices of assessment for the 2005 ­ 2008 reassessment cycle in November. All properties in the province have been reassessed using a 2002 market value base. The deadline to appeal assessments for 2005 for properties in the City of Saskatoon is December 21st, 2004. The appeal deadline for the City of Regina is January 6, 2005.

Return to Top

Regina - 2005 Reassessment Update

For 2005, all properties will be reassessed in the City of Regina. Currently, property values based on values as of June 30, 1998. The 2005 reassessment updates values to a base of June 30, 2002.

On September 1st, 2004, the City of Regina sent out "Estimated 2005 Assessment and Tax Impact" forms to all commercial property owners to advise them of the preliminary impacts of the 2005 reassessment. The City anticipates an average increase of .7% in the total assessment value for commercial properties in Regina.

Residential property owners can expect to receive similar information by the end of the month.

The City Council is inviting taxpayers to attend information sessions which will be advertised on the radio, in newspapers and on the City's website at http://www.cityregina.com/content/info_services/taxation/assessment/index.php3

Currently, it is anticipated that 2005 roll will be released in October 2004 and formal assessment notices are expected to be mailed shortly.

Because 2005 is a reassessment year, it is important to remember to review and if necessary, appeal your assessment prior to the deadline. (Traditionally, the appeal deadline is at the end of January.) The appeal deadline for 2005 will be posted to this website as soon as the official date is determined.

Property taxes for 2005 will be calculated in May 2005 and will be based on the assessment of the property, tax policies determined by the City Council and other taxing authorities and the 2005 tax rates for the City, Schools and Library Boards.

Return to Top

Changes to SAMA Funding and Board

Speaking to the Annual General Meeting of the Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA), the Minister of Government Relations recently announced that starting in 2004/05; the provincial education sector will commence contributing to the funding of SAMA. Contributions in the first year will be $750,000, rising over the next 3 years to an annual contribution of $2.5 million.

The funding changes arise from the report of the Boughen Commission on education funding, which identified the need for greater stability in Saskatchewan’s assessment system. This change recognizes the fact that 56.7% of property taxes are applied to the revenue requirements of school divisions, whereas only 42.4% were levied by municipalities.

Accompanying this change in funding is a change in representation on the SAMA Board. Currently the Board has 9 members; 5 local government reps, 3 provincial reps and 1 from the Saskatchewan assessor’s association. The new board structure will have 11 members; achieved by adding 1 from the education sector, 2 more provincial reps and deleting representation from the assessor’s association.

Return to Top

Regina Council Proposing New Property Classes

Responding to perceived assessment inequities, the City of Regina council is considering adding to the number of property classes used for mill rate purposes.

One new class would apply exclusively to full service hotels located outside of the city centre. The 3 hotels that would constitute this class would then receive a reduced mill rate factor as compared to their downtown counterparts.

A second new class would apply to specifically to golf course properties. This change arises out of appeals by the Royal Regina Golf Club.

City administration has expressed concern regarding the proliferation of property classes and the inequities that may arise by treating varying property groups differently for taxation purposes.

Return to Top

2004 Assessment Notices & Appeals

Saskatchewan assessment agencies have mailed out the 2004 assessment notices and appeal periods have closed for most municipalities. Appeal numbers are very low in most municipalities as 2004 is the final year of the current assessment cycle, with its base year for value of 1998. 

Assessment authorities are currently preparing for the province-wide 2005 reassessment and its base year for fair value of 2002.  The provincial Department of Government Relations has provided a January 2004 deadline for assessment agencies to submit preliminary estimates of the new assessments to allow for tax impact analysis to be carried out. 

For the first time, a number of municipalities including Regina and Saskatoon, will be employing the Marshall costing manuals to prepare assessment values for 2005.  Conversion of existing databases and rating procedures is underway at this time.  Regina and Saskatoon will also be employing newly developed CAMA systems for the 2005 reassessment.

Return to Top

Regina and Saskatoon– Notices in the Mail

Notices were mailed on November 5th.  The last day to appeal to the Regina Board of Revision - December 5, 2003. Please note, notices are sent only if there is a change in the assessment.  

On November 7th, 2003, assessment notices were mailed in the City of Saskatoon.  The last day to appeal - December 8th, 2003.

It is important to remember that if you are appealing the assessment, detailed explanation for the reason for appeal is required.

Return to Top

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Burnaby/New Westminster and Tri-Cities Offices moving

Effective December 20, 2004 the Burnaby/New Westminster Area Office AND the Tri-Cities Area Office will be combined and relocated. Their new office name is NORTH FRASER REGION and the new address is:

420-2700 Production Way
Burnaby, BC
V6A 4X1

Telephone: 604-294-6441
Fax: 604-294-8193

Return to Top

British Columbia Appeal Deadline

Property owners wishing to appeal their 2005 assessment are required to have their appeals and the appropriate authority forms filed by January 31st, 2005.

Return to Top

Bill 75 - One Step Closer to a Parking Tax in the Lower Mainland

Bill 75, Transportation Statutes Amendment Act, 2004 received Royal Assent on October 21, 2004. Sections 9 and 11 are now in force with remaining sections to be brought into force by Regulation. Sections 2 through 14 amend the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act and allow TransLink to levy a parking tax in addition to the property tax already levied by the municipalities.

TransLink is currently in discussions with BC Assessment, as well as Property Assessment Review Panel, Property Assessment Appeal Board, the Surveyor of Taxes, municipalities and other entities responsible for the property tax regime so as to administer property taxes based on parking area on GVTA's behalf in the same manner and to the same extent as they administer property taxes based on assessed value.

The parking tax will target commercial and industrial parcels; parcels in class 1 - residential, class 7 - managed forest and class 9 - farm are exempt. It is anticipated that the parking tax will have the largest impact on shopping centres and large format (Big Box) retailers who are required to provide more free parking stalls than other non-residential land uses.

The primary basis for the calculation of the parking tax will be by the measurement of area. TransLink says, that the parking tax will be equivalent to approximately $30 per stall per annum. The exact method of measuring the area of a parking site is still being established.

Return to Top

British Columbia Authorization Form

Agency Form
http://www.bcassessment.bc.ca/7_proser/Agt_Auth.pdf

Return to Top

ALBERTA

Klein names new Cabinet - New Minister of Municipal Affairs

A new Cabinet has been named by Premier Ralph Klein - the new Minister of Municipal Affairs is Rob Renner from Medicine Hat.

Return to Top

Municipal Participation to Linear Property Assessment Complaints

Effective in 2003, a municipality in which a linear property assessment complaint is launched, is now recognized as a full party to the complaint. Previously, the municipality would be required to file an official intervention pursuant to Section 508 of the Act if it wanted to become a party of a complaint.

Return to Top

City of Calgary - Appeal Deadline

The City of Calgary will be mailing out assessment notices in February 2005. The deadline to appeal is 30 days from the mailing date of the notice.

Return to Top

City Calgary, Alberta Authorization Form

Calgary Agency Form

Return to Top

2004 Taxation Bylaw for Yellowhead County

Yellowhead County has created a new tax class, never before seen in Alberta, called the "Resource Road Program". The assessed value of this new category is 2.6 billon on a total assessment in the County of 5.4 billion making this new assessment 49% of the total assessment. At this time, how this new assessment is prepared or determined is not known.

Return to Top

Edmonton – Mailing Dates

Business assessment and tax notices were mailed February 13th, as expected. The last day to appeal has been set for March 26th.

The deadline for appealing annual realty assessments is April 8th, 2004.

***All final dates to appeal are approximate and must be confirmed on the actual Notice.***

Return to Top

Calgary – Mailing Dates

Property assessment notices were mailed on February 2nd, 2004. The appeal deadline is approximately 30 days from the mailing date of the notices, or March 4th, 2004.

Business assessment notices were mailed on January 30, 2004 with the appeal period being 30 days from the date of mailing of the notices, or March 1st, 2004.

Return to Top

MANITOBA

City of Winnipeg – Preview Letters Sent Out for 2006 General Assessment

On January 28, 2005, 12,700 residential property owners were sent their preliminary estimates of value for the 2006 General Assessment. Along with these notices was information on how property owners could contact the assessment department to discuss the value of their assessment. It is anticipated that Property Assessment Notices will be sent out at the beginning of June 2005. These values will be effective from January 1, 2006 with the assessed values to be based upon the market value of the properties as of 2003 and will carry forward to 2009, unless there are physical changes such as demolitions or additions to the property.

Preview letters for other types of properties were expected to go out:

Multi-family – November 15, 2004
Office/Retail: January 17, 2005
Industrial/Garage – February 11, 2005
Hotels – January 31, 2005

Return to Top

City of Winnipeg Market Value Changes

The City of Winnipeg reports that values have changed significantly in four years. Bearing in mind that the 2002 General Assessment was based on 1999 market values and that the 2006 values is based on 2003 market values, the following increases in value are indicated:

Commercial property values have risen 10.26 % from 1999 to 2003.
Residential property values, which consist of four dwelling units and under increased by 23.2%
Multi-Family housing values , consisting of 5 dwelling units and up, has increased by 12.65%
Condominiums and co-operative housing has seen an increase of 20.4%.

Return to Top

City of Winnipeg - 2006 Reassessment

The Property Assessment Department is conducting a reassessment of all property in Winnipeg for taxation year 2006. This "commercial preview program" will run from November 1, 2004 to April 30, 2005. The market value base year for 2006 realty assessment is 2003.

The Assessment Department will be sending out "preview letters" which will indicate preliminary values and general market trends for specific commercial property groups. All commercial properties owners will receive a preview letter. Mailings dates have tentatively been set as follows:

• Multi-family - November 15, 2004
• Office/Retail - December 20, 2004
• Industrial/Garage - January 4, 2005
• Hotels - January 31, 2005
• Personal Care Homes - November 29, 2004

Return to Top

Legal Challenges – Release of Information

Questions are being raised in Manitoba regarding information obtained by assessors in applying the income approach to value. Such information is collected in the annual income/expense and sales surveys employed by assessors. It is typically obtained and treated as “confidential” by the assessor.

Although it has been accepted that the income and expense information on the subject property is available to the appeal tribunal, details on comparable properties are normally withheld by the assessor, citing the confidentiality provisions in the Freedom of Information Privacy and Protection Act. For example, detailed information on hotel properties used for Cap rate derivation is provided by the assessor at appeal hearings, but with the ownership and location of the sold properties omitted. It is being argued that access to the full information on these properties is necessary for the appellant to be certain that he, or she, is being treated in an equitable manner with similar properties.

A variation of this challenge is also arising in Winnipeg, where the assessor may default to market norms for hotel characteristics, such as vacancy rates or expense ratios, in circumstances where “actuals” from the subject property appear out of line with these norms. Again the challenge relates to whether the assessor is required to provide the property specific detail on those hotels from which the market norms have been derived.

The pending challenges to the Court of Appeal are based on a “point of law” and “leave” must therefore be granted before the cases will be considered by the Court. The consequences to the collection and treatment of commercial property information by the assessor may be significant, dependent on the outcome of these actions, and AEC will continue to monitor the status of these challenges.

Return to Top

Assessment Department Troubles

It’s never dull in Winnipeg. A case that was launched almost two years ago and has been delayed by city lawyers trying to get the matter quashed, has now come to the forefront. The hotel industry is proceeding with a $50-million lawsuit against the City of Winnipeg’s assessment department. It alleges the department “acted like a thug in evaluating the worth of hotel properties for tax purposes”, claiming that hotel owners who complained about their assessments were threatened or intimidated by city assessors. Another accusation is that the department was using improper methods to determine hotel values in an attempt to raise more taxes. The assessment department will be filing a statement of defence and says that the hoteliers’ case is completely without merit.

Return to Top

NEW BRUNSWICK

Assessment Notices and Appeals

Notices of Assessment will be mailed on March 1st, 2005 with the last date to appeal the assessment falling within 30 days of the issue date of the Tax Notice.

Return to Top

NOVA SCOTIA

Nova Scotia CAP Assessment Program Information

Service Nova Scotia has introduced a new program designed to protect property owners from dramatic increases in assessed values. The program - CAP Assessment Program - will limit or ‘cap’ the amount of annual assessment increases.

To qualify, property owners must apply each year and certain criteria must be met, such as:

• Be at least 50% owned by a Nova Scotia resident
• Be a taxable residential property with no more than three dwelling units, or be taxable vacant resource property
• Have an increase in market assessment value in any year after 2001, greater than the CAP percentage for that year, excluding any new assessment value as a result of construction or renovations to the property
• Have not transferred ownership, or if transferred, then only to certain close relatives such as a spouse, child, grandchild, great grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother or sister. The property may also be transferred to family trusts or farm cooperatives and remain eligible

Return to Top

Nova Scotia Assessment Appeal Information

Assessment notices will be mailed in January 2005. If a property owner decides to appeal their assessment, they must do so within 21 days from the date on their assessment notice.

Any Notice of Appeal must be received by the Assessment Office within 21 days of the date on the notice. The notice of appeal may be mailed, faxed or hand delivered to a Regional Assessment Office. However, due to current legislative requirements, appeals are not accepted via e-mail.

Return to Top

New Appointment at Service Nova Scotia Assessment Services Division

Effective November 8th, 2004 Kathy Gillis, currently the Director of Operations for the Assessment Services Division of Service Nova Scotia & Municipal Relations, will assume the position of Director of Assessment. This position was formally held by John MacKay.

Return to Top

"BOT" Consultations

The Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities and the Province of Nova Scotia are contemplating the elimination of business occupancy assessments and taxation. Prior to implementing the BOT, information sessions were being conducted across the province to inform businesses of the impact of this move, and to seek responses. These information sessions were held at:

• Truro, Best Western Glengarry Hotel - June 29
• Greenwich, Kings Co., Old Orchard Inn - June 30
• Yarmouth, Rodd Grand Hotel - July 5
• Sydney, Delta Sydney - July 8
• Halifax, Lord Nelson Hotel - July 13
• Antigonish, Claymore Inn - July 20

Return to Top

Capping

The Hamm governments' capping bill received second reading and looks like it's well on its way to being legislated, according to local newspapers. The bill originally introduced in 2002, introduces a cap on yearly assessment increases.

The Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities and the Ministry of Municipal relations are unable to agree on a capping number. If an agreement cannot be reached, the province will impose one. The Union feels that this plan is regressive and shifts the tax burden onto other property taxpayers as municipalities will still require a certain amount of money to deliver provincially mandated services. The concern is that longtime property owners, including seniors who have a fixed income and have done little to improve their properties, will still be subject to an assessment hike.

If the bill passes, its measure will take effect for the 2005- 2006 taxation year.

Return to Top

Business Occupancy Assessment and Taxation (BOAT)

In 2003 the BOAT Committee met to review previous work done by Municipal-Provincial Roles and Responsibilities Review Committee and to make final recommendations to the Province of Nova Scotia regarding business occupancy assessment and taxation.  In brief, some of the main recommendations were:

1. The BOAT should be eliminated

2. A tax for replacing the Board should:

• Be simpler

• Require few administrative resources

• Not impede economic development

• Encourage businesses to locate to NS

• Should minimize problems of uncollected taxes

3. Municipalities and businesses should be advised of the elimination of the BOAT prior to the end of 2003

4. There will be a two-year phase out period

5. Department of Tourism may wish to consider a rebate program to offset tax increases which may affect seasonal tourism facilities

6. Landlords will be authorized to re-open leases to transfer to tenants any property tax increase following specific guidelines, which will be defined by legislation

NOVA SCOTIA - Reassessment Summary – 2004

Return to Top