Don Davies

The City of Greater Sudbury appealed the current value assessments of six active mining properties for the 2017 to 2021 taxation years, arguing that the assessments were too low.

The Assessment Review Board determined the current values using the cost approach.

The Board accepted the evidence of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and the respondent property owners regarding the reproduction cost new, depreciation, and land value, rejecting the City's proposed adjustments and global depreciation caps as unsupported.

The Board confirmed the current values as determined by MPAC and found no equitable reduction was required.

The City of Greater Sudbury appealed the current value assessments of several active mining properties owned by Vale Canada Limited and Glencore Canada Corporation for the 2017 to 2021 taxation years.

The City argued that the assessments by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) were too low and sought significant increases.

The Board applied the cost approach to determine the current value, evaluating the reproduction cost new, depreciation, and land value.

The Board rejected the City's evidence, finding it unreliable and based on incorrect premises, and instead accepted MPAC's detailed and transparent costing and valuation methodology, which was supported by the property owners' experts.

The Board confirmed MPAC's current value assessments and found no equitable reduction was required.

The City of Ottawa and the previous owner appealed the property assessments for two vacant lots in downtown Ottawa for the 2017 to 2020 taxation years.

The parties agreed on the current value of the properties but disputed the equitable adjustment required under section 44(3)(b) of the Assessment Act.

The Assessment Review Board rejected the Assessment to Market Ratio (AMR) method proposed by the current owner, preferring the Assessment to Sale Ratio (ASR) method used by MPAC and the City.

After filtering the comparable sales to those within the shoulder years of the valuation date, the Board determined a median ASR of 0.830.

This resulted in a reduced equitable current value of $8,500,000 for the subject property.