Barry Henaut

The applicant applied to the Assessment Review Board under section 323(1) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006 for the cancellation of his 2024 property taxes, claiming an inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty following a catastrophic accident.

The Board found that while the applicant's sickness reduced his household income, his income less non-discretionary expenses still left an annual surplus of at least $50,000.

The Board held that discretionary expenses cannot take precedence over the payment of property taxes and dismissed the application.

The applicant applied to the Assessment Review Board for a cancellation, reduction, or refund of her 2024 property taxes, citing an inability to pay due to sickness and extreme poverty under section 323(1) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

The Board reviewed the applicant's household income, expenses, and the equity in her condominium.

The Board found that the applicant's remaining income after basic expenses was sufficient to cover the levied taxes, and that she had substantial equity in her property.

The application was dismissed.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) brought a motion to dismiss the appellant's property assessment appeals for the 2021-2024 taxation years based on issue estoppel.

The parties had previously settled appeals for the 2017-2019 taxation years regarding the same 2016 current value assessment, resulting in final Board decisions.

The Board found that the three preconditions for issue estoppel were met: the same question was decided, the previous decisions were final, and the parties were the same.

The Board exercised its discretion to apply issue estoppel, noting the public interest in the finality of settlements and avoiding duplicative litigation.

The motion was granted and the appeals were dismissed.

The requesting party, Cadillac Fairview, brought an unopposed motion for an order requiring the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) to disclose documents relating to third-party properties not under appeal.

Notice was served on the third-party property owners, none of whom objected.

As the request was unopposed by MPAC and the City of Toronto, the Assessment Review Board granted the order for disclosure pursuant to section 53(5) of the Assessment Act.

The appellant requested a suspension of the schedule for a written hearing of the respondent's issue estoppel motion.

The appellant argued that the motion should be suspended pending the Divisional Court's final decision in a separate appeal (Manulife) where leave to appeal had been granted on similar issue estoppel grounds.

The Assessment Review Board denied the suspension request, finding that the Divisional Court's leave decision was based on case-specific facts regarding whether an equitable adjustment was addressed in a prior settlement, and was unlikely to impact the Board's adjudication of the respondent's motion in this case.

The applicant applied to the Assessment Review Board for a cancellation, reduction, or refund of her 2022 property taxes, citing an inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty under section 323(1)(e) of the City of Toronto Act, 2006.

The Board reviewed the applicant's financial information, noting significant assets, equity in her home, and discretionary spending that contradicted a claim of extreme poverty.

The Board found that the applicant failed to demonstrate an inability to pay the property taxes and dismissed the application.