Tribunals Ontario
Tribunaux décisionnels Ontario
Assessment Review Board
Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE:
December 01, 2022
WR 182292
Assessed Person(s):
Z.C.
Applicant(s):
Z.C.
Respondent(s):
City of Hamilton
Property Location(s):
Address Withheld
Municipality(ies):
City of Hamilton
Roll Number(s):
Roll Number Withheld
Appeal Number(s):
3491859
Taxation Year(s):
2021
Hearing Event No.:
777392
Legislative Authority:
Section 357(1) (d.1) of the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001 c. 25, as amended
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Representative
Z.C.
E.C.
City of Hamilton
Linda Nimako
HEARD:
November 15, 2022 by telephone conference call
ADJUDICATOR(S):
Margarita Okhovati, Member
DECISION
OVERVIEW
1Z.C., the Applicant, filed an application with the City of Hamilton (the “City”) to have her 2021 property taxes cancelled, reduced or refunded because she was unable to pay, due either to sickness or extreme poverty, under s. 357(1)(d.1) of the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001 c. 25.
2The City has passed a by-law delegating its authority to determine such applications to the Assessment Review Board (the “Board”).
3The subject property is a two-story single-family detached house with four bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The property taxes levied on the subject property in the 2021 taxation year was $5,535.24. According to the City’s latest report, the balance of the Applicant’s property taxes for 2021 is $6,940.96.
Issues for the Hearing
4The main issue before the Board is whether the Applicant’s 2021 property taxes should be cancelled, reduced or refunded due to the Applicant’s inability to pay because of sickness or extreme poverty. This requires the Board to determine:
if the Applicant was unable to pay the 2021 property taxes;
if the reason the Applicant was unable to pay was either sickness or extreme poverty; and finally,
if the Applicant was unable to pay because of sickness or extreme poverty, the amount of the property taxes levied in 2021 to be cancelled, reduced, or refunded.
Result
5The Board finds that the Applicant was unable to pay the 2021 property taxes due to sickness. The property taxes levied for 2021 are therefore reduced by $2,604.41.
PRELIMINARY MATTERS
Pre-Hearing Conference
6A pre-hearing conference was held by telephone on June 30, 2022. In that pre-hearing, E.C. stated that he was married to Z.C. and that he was representing her and their two sons. At the outset of the pre-hearing, E.C. questioned the Board’s process based on his previous experience. He stated that he wanted to talk to the administration of the Board to express his concern and request an in-person hearing format. E.C. explained that he did not have good experience with telephone conference call hearings because he was unable to negotiate certain submitted expense claims as he did in the past when in-person hearings were conducted. The Board explained to him that he had to contact the Board’s case coordinator to seek guidance in this respect.
7The pre-hearing was concluded by providing the Applicant all the information regarding the full hearing and the documents that are required to support the Application.
Procedural Order
8On July 13, 2022, the Board issued its Procedural Order (DM 180094) from the June 30, 2022 pre-hearing. This Procedural Order outlined the information that was discussed at the pre-hearing and confirmed the required documents the Applicant and all adult residents of the subject property needed to serve on the City and the Board and set a full hearing date of August 15, 2022 at 1:30 p.m., unless the Board changed the date of the hearing.
Adjournments
Adjournment Number 1
9On July 15, 2022, E.C., through the City’s representative, requested an adjournment of the August 15, 2022 hearing. The adjournment was granted.
Adjournment Number 2
10On August 9, 2022, E.C. filed an accommodation request with the Board to change the hearing format from telephone conference call to an in-person hearing. The Board denied the request but suggested changing the telephone conference call hearing to a video conference hearing instead and offered to assist E.C. and the Applicant by walking them through the whole process. E.C. rejected the Board’s suggestion and requested an adjournment. The Board approved the adjournment request and re-scheduled the full hearing for October 6, 2022.
Adjournment Number 3
11On September 23, 2022, E.C. requested an adjournment of the October 6, 2022 hearing to prepare the required documents for the full hearing. The Board approved the request and re-scheduled a peremptory hearing for November 15, 2022 at 1:30 p.m.
November 15, 2022 - Full Hearing
12On February 28, 2022, E.C. submitted a signed incomplete Financial Information Form on behalf of the Applicant and their two adult children for the full hearing. In that form, it was stated that the Applicant was divorced. E.C. stated that although he and the Applicant were divorced, they live together in the subject property. He did not include his name on the form as a resident in the subject property but submitted his bank statements, at a later date, for the full hearing.
13At the November 15, 2022 hearing, most of the hearing time was spent on E.C.’s oral arguments for added expenses unsupported by receipts and trying to direct the Board how to treat certain orally included figures. Not only did the Board accept all the added expenses by giving weight to the Applicant’s and E.C.’s oral testimonies, but also accepted numerous expenses included in the Financial Statement Form without receipts. As well, it should be noted that the Board also added a substantial amount of expense to the family’s total expenses based on the submitted documents that were missed by E.C. and the Applicant in the Financial Statement Form and orally, i.e., the 2021 school tuition of one of their sons for $6,220.68 ($518.39 per month).
ANALYSIS
Issue 1 – Was the Applicant unable to pay the property taxes levied in 2021?
14The Applicant submitted four bank account statements: three checking accounts and one savings account. E.C. testified that in 2021, he was in possession of a credit card account as well. He stated that because there were not many activities recorded in that account, the Bank refused to give him a statement. However, he considered the credit card payments of $153.67 per month as an expense and the Board accepted it.
15In 2021, the family’s total income per month, based on the oral testimony and documentary evidence, was $5,474.15, which was derived mostly from the Ontario Disability Support Program (“ODSP”), GST, income tax refund, cryptocurrency investment, and as testified orally, $2,200.00 ($183.33 per month) cash from relatives to assist them with food and other expenses.
16The Board notes that the Applicant’s evidence in the Financial Statement Form with respect to both income and expenses is very different from her oral testimony and the documentary evidence. The Board relies on the documentary evidence and the bank records, which provide the best and precise evidence. In addition, as mentioned above, E.C. did not provide the Board with his credit card statement nor the savings account statement of one of their sons, although it was explained at the pre-hearing conference and in the Procedural Order that adult residents of the subject property had to disclose all the required information.
17The balance of the Applicant’s bank accounts as of December 31, 2021, totaled $4,336.55.
18Monthly expenses reported by the Applicant for 2021, totaled approximately $5,268.93 and are summarized in the following Table 1.
TABLE 1 - EXPENSES
Mortgage:
$1,140.27
Property tax paid in 2021 for previous year:
$30.91
Home and car insurance:
$328.15
Gas for car:
$ 120.00
Car maintenance: (no receipt)
$50.00
Household repairs:
$50.00
Fuel:
$82.98
Hydro/water:
$232.37
Cell phones:
$90.00
Food:
$1,600.00
Cleaning material:
$150.00
Internet/ cable:
$116.29
Medication:
$150.00
Clothing:
$220.00
Entertainment and other expenses:
$179.28
Water heater rental:
$ 36.62
Credit card payment:
$153.67
Outstanding debt:
$20.00
Tuition: (added by Board)
$518.39
Expenses Total:
$5,268.93
19Deducting the monthly total expenses from the monthly total income results in a net total monthly income of $205.22.
TABLE 2 – NET TOTAL
Income Total
$5,474.15
Expenses Total
$5,268.93
Net Total
+$205.22
20The current value of the subject property for the 2021 taxation year, as determined by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”), is $458,000. The City did not provide the Board with the value of similar properties sold in 2021 in the vicinity of the subject property. Therefore, the Board accepts MPAC’s valuation as the value of the subject property for the 2021 taxation year.
21The following tables detail the Applicant’s assets and liabilities for the 2021 taxation year.
TABLE 3 – ASSETS
Subject Property:
$458,000.00
Balance in bank accounts:
$4,336.55
Assets Total:
$462,336.55
TABLE 4 – LIABILITIES
Mortgage owing
$235,586.61
School loan
$10,193.00
Liabilities Total:
$245,779.61
22Subtracting the Applicant’s total liabilities of $245,779.61 from her total assets of $462,336.55 results in a total net worth of $216,556.94 for the 2021 taxation year.
23The City did not take a position on whether the Applicant was unable to pay the property taxes, as the City has delegated its authority of that decision to the Board.
Findings on Issue 1 - Ability to Pay
24After considering the Applicant’s income and expenses, the Board notes that there is a $205.22 monthly surplus income and that the family’s bank accounts show a total balance of $4,336.55, which the Applicant could use to pay a portion of the 2021 taxes.
25The Board also notes that the Applicant’s priority was to pay the monthly mortgage and other expenses without cutting from the necessities of life.
26Furthermore, the Board notes that MPAC’s valuation of the subject property in 2021, is $458,000, and when total liabilities are considered, the equity in the subject property amounts to approximately $212,220.39. The Applicant could have accessed the equity in the home to pay her taxes.
27The Board has widely held that property taxes must hold a place of priority with respect to the money spent by a household over the course of a given taxation year. The Board has also held that to determine if the Applicant is able to pay taxes, those payments are to be made once all costs associated with the reasonable necessities of life and care of those residents at the subject property are covered.
28Accordingly, the Board finds that the Applicant had the ability to partially pay the 2021 property taxes despite her and two other family members’ illnesses. As mentioned above, she was in possession of $205.22 monthly surplus income ($2,462.64 per year), $4,336.55 in the family’s bank accounts as of the end of the year 2021 and had also access to $212,220.39 equity in the home. This indicates to the Board that the Applicant was not in a negative situation when it comes to poverty.
Issue 2 - Was the reason for the Applicant’s inability to pay the taxes in 2021 a result of either sickness or extreme poverty?
29The City did not contest the evidence that the Applicant is disabled and is unable to work. As mentioned above, the single circumstance that led to the Applicant’s inability to pay her 2021 property taxes was because of the multiple conditions suffered by the Applicant and two other household members and according to their physician, this makes them impossible to return to work.
Findings on Issue 2
30The Board finds that the Applicant’s inability to pay the 2021 taxes was a result of the Applicant’s and two other household members’ sicknesses.
Issue 3 – What is the amount of the property taxes levied in 2021 to be cancelled, reduced, or refunded?
Findings on Issue 3
31The property taxes levied in 2021 were $6,940.96. After accounting for the bank balances at the end of the year of $4,336.55 and without considering the Applicant’s monthly surplus income of $205.22, the amount that the Applicant was unable to pay is $2,604.41.
ORDER
32The Board orders the property taxes levied in 2021 be reduced by $2,604.41.
"Margarita Okhovati"
MARGARITA OKHOVATI
MEMBER
Assessment Review Board
Website: www.tribunalsontario.ca/arb