Timberland Equipment Limited v. Municipal Property Assessment Corporation, 2016 CanLII 39176

Assessment Review Board

Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière

ISSUE DATE: June 21, 2016

FILE NO.: WR 140801

Assessed Person(s): Timberland Equipment Limited

Appellant(s): Timberland Equipment Limited

Respondent(s): Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”) Region 23

Respondent(s): City of Woodstock

Property Location(s): 459 Industrial Avenue

Municipality(ies): City of Woodstock

Roll Number(s): 3242-020-070-20700-0000

Appeal Number(s): 2967855, 2991367, 2991368, 2991369, 2991370, 2991371, 2991372, 3027389, 3091261 and 3158398 (deemed 2016 appeal)

Taxation Year(s): 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 (deemed 2016)

Hearing Event No: 625696

Legislative Authority: Sections 34 and 40 of the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31, as amended

Heard: May 10, 2016 by Telephone Conference Call

APPEARANCES:

Parties	Representative
Timberland Equipment Limited	Paul J. Smith
MPAC	William Somerville
City of Woodstock	No one appeared

DECISION OF THE BOARD DELIVERED BY DAN WEAGANT

INTRODUCTION

1The subject property was subject to several appeals; six under s. 34 and three under s. 40 of the Assessment Act (“Act”). These appeals were heard by the Assessment Review Board (“Board”) on July 9, 2015. The Board rendered a decision with a finding of current value for the subject property for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 taxation years to address the s. 40 appeals. For the six remaining s. 34 appeals, the parties indicated that, once the current value of the property was determined, they could jointly come to an agreement on the specific values and the respective tax classes of the supplementary assessments under s. 34.

2In its Interim Decision (ID 133436), issued October 2, 2015, the Board directed the parties as follows:

• Within 45 days of the release of this decision, MPAC shall provide the Appellant, with a copy to the Board, its determination of the specific values of each of the six supplementary assessments and their respective tax classes.
• Within 30 days of receipt of MPAC’s determination, the Appellant is to provide its acceptance of the figures in MPAC’s determination, with a copy to the Board.
• In the event that the parties are not able to agree on the values of the supplementary assessments, they shall jointly give notice to the Board, within 75 days of the release of this decision, requesting that the Board reconvene the hearing for the purpose of determining the value and apportionment of the supplementary assessments.

3On December 1, 2015, MPAC provided information to the Appellant indicating that the only supplementary assessment appeal affected by the Board’s decision on the s. 40 appeals at hearing was appeal 2991369 and that the value of that supplementary assessment was reduced from $1,983,600 to $1,417,600. In subsequent communication from the Appellant’s representative, dated December 21, 2015, Mr. Smith confirmed his agreement with MPAC. The result of the parties’ agreement on the values of the six s. 34 supplementary assessments is as follows:

TABLE A

Appeal Number	s. 34 Supplementary Value	s. 34 Supplementary Classification	Result
2991367	$164,000	Industrial, (New Construction) (Full)	Value and Classification confirmed
2991368	$3,400	Commercial (Full)	Value and Classification confirmed
2991369	$1,983,600	Industrial (New Construction) (Full)	Value reduced to $1,417,600; Classification confirmed
2991370	$1,817,000	Industrial (New Construction) (Full)	Value and Classification confirmed
2991371	$58,400	Commercial (New Construction) (Full)	Value and Classification confirmed
2991372	$163,000	Industrial (New Construction) (Excess Land)	Value and Classification confirmed

4In considering these submissions by the parties, the Board misinterpreted the results in Table A, above by failing to recognize that some of the values shown were not in fact new values, but represented reallocation of existing values from one property classification to another. This led to the Board erroneously interpreting that the overall values of these supplementary assessments added up to a total assessment above the current value determined by the Board for the 2014 and 2015 taxation years.

5Subsequently, the Board issued a further Interim Decision (ID 138736) with adjusted values for each of the six s. 34 supplementary assessments under appeal, with direction to the parties to either confirm those values determined by the Board, or to request a further hearing of the matter by telephone conference call (“TCC”).

6The parties requested a further hearing event to address what they jointly considered to be the inaccurate interpretation of their submissions reflected in the Board’s Interim Decision.

7This further TCC call was held on May 10, 2016 to correct the interpretation of the Board.

8As a result of the May 10, 2016 TCC, Hearing number 625696, the Board finds that the values and classifications of each of the six supplementary assessments to be as shown in Table A, above.

2016 DEEMED APPEAL

9An appeal for the 2015 taxation year is presently before the Board. Section 40.(26) of the Assessment Act provides that the appellant is deemed to have made the same appeal for the subsequent taxation year if the appeal is not finally disposed of before March 31 of the subsequent taxation year. The Board has not disposed of the 2015 appeal before March 31, 2016. For that reason, this decision also applies to the 2016 taxation year.

10Section 40.(26) of the Act directs:

Deemed appeals, 2009 and subsequent years

(26) For 2009 and subsequent taxation years, an appellant shall be deemed to have brought the same appeal in respect of a property,

(a) in relation to the assessments under sections 32, 33 and 34 for the year; and

(b) in relation to the assessment, including assessments under sections 32, 33 and 34, for a subsequent taxation year to which the same general reassessment applies, if the appeal is not finally disposed of before March 31 of the subsequent taxation year or, if an assessment has been made under section 32, 33 or 34, before the 90th day after the notice of assessment was mailed.