Tribunals Ontario Tribunaux décisionnels Ontario
Assessment Review Board Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE: November 14, 2023
Assessed Person(s): A.K.M.F. and N.A.
Appellant(s): A.K.M.F. and N.A.
Respondent(s): City of Mississauga
Property Location(s): Address Withheld
Municipality(ies): City of Mississauga
Roll Number(s): Roll Number Withheld
Appeal Number(s): 3518564
Taxation Year(s): 2022
Hearing Event No.: 782171
Legislative Authority: Section 357(1)(d.1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Representative |
|---|---|
| A.K.M.F. | Self-represented |
| City of Mississauga | Sean Doyle |
HEARD: October 19, 2023 by video conference
ADJUDICATOR(S): Paul Brennan, Member
DECISION
OVERVIEW
1These are the written reasons for an oral decision and reasons given at the videoconference hearing on October 19, 2023.
Background
2A.K.M.F. and N.A. (the “Applicants”) applied to the City of Mississauga (the “City”) to have their 2022 property taxes cancelled, reduced, or refunded because they were unable to pay these taxes due to sickness or extreme poverty under s. 357(1)(d.1) of the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001, c. 25 (the “Act”). The City passed a by-law delegating its authority to determine such applications to the Assessment Review Board.
Issue
3The Board must determine if all or part of the Applicants’ 2022 property taxes should be cancelled, reduced, or refunded due to the Applicants’ inability to pay because of sickness or extreme poverty. To make this determination, the Board must decide:
a) if the Applicants were unable to pay all or part of their property taxes and
b) if so, the Board must determine if their inability to pay was due to sickness or extreme poverty.
Result
4The Board finds that the Applicants did not produce sufficient financial documentation for the Board to decide whether all or part of their 2022 property taxes should be cancelled, reduced, or refunded because of the Applicants’ inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty.
5As such, the Applicants’ application for the 2022 taxation year is dismissed.
Procedural Order #1
6On August 14, 2023, a pre-hearing conference was held to provide the Applicants with information about the full hearing and the documents required to support the application. The Applicant, A.K.M.F., attended the pre-hearing.
7On August 16, 2023, the Board issued a Procedural Order (DM 184848), which outlined the information discussed at the pre-hearing and confirmed the documents that the Applicants were required to serve the City and file with the Board to support the application. The Applicants were required to serve and file the required documentation by August 30, 2023, and the City was to provide any material and response to the Applicants’ documentation by September 6, 2023.
8The Procedural Order indicated that the Applicants bear the onus of proof to show that they could not pay their property taxes in the 2022 taxation year. It further emphasized that failing to provide the required documentation set out in the Order may result in a dismissal of the application.
9On consent of the parties, the full hearing of the application was scheduled to proceed on September 13, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. by video conference call.
Adjournment
10At the beginning of the hearing on September 13, 2023, the City’s representative indicated that the Applicants had not submitted crucial documentary evidence as required by the Procedural Order, that the City had contacted the Applicants to request these additional documents, but there remained several outstanding documents that the Applicants had not produced.
11On consent, the full hearing of the application was adjourned and rescheduled to October 19, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. by videoconference to allow the Applicants additional time to gather and serve the outstanding documents.
Procedural Order #2
12On September 15, 2023, the Board issued a second Procedural Order (DM 185048), which ordered the Applicants to provide to the City and the Board the following documents:
- monthly statements of all credit cards held by A.K.M.F. and/or N.A. for 2022, specifically:
o monthly statements for their TD Visa credit card
o monthly statements for their HSBC Mastercard
o monthly statements for their Canadian Tire credit card
13The Applicants were ordered to serve and file these documents by October 5, 2023, and the City was to provide any material in response to the Applicants’ documentation by October 12, 2023.
14The Procedural Order specifically indicated that the October 19, 2023 hearing date was peremptory, compliance with the Order was extremely important, and failure to comply with the Order may result in the dismissal of the application.
ANALYSIS
15The Applicants have the burden of proof to demonstrate that they could not pay their property taxes in 2022 due to sickness or extreme poverty.
16In determining the Applicants’ ability to pay their property taxes, the Board must review their financial documentation for the 2022 taxation year, including but not limited to evidence of income from all sources, evidence of monthly expenses, and evidence of all assets and liabilities. The two Procedural Orders made it clear that the Applicants were required to provide this documentation.
17The second Procedural Order indicated that the Applicants were required to provide monthly 2022 credit card statements for their TD Visa, HSBC Mastercard, and Canadian Tire credit cards. However, for reasons that the Applicant, A.K.M.F., could not sufficiently explain at the hearing, the Applicants provided 2022 TD Visa credit card statements for only three of 12 months, HSBC Mastercard statements for only four of 12 months, and Canadian Tire credit card statements for only one of 12 months. In short, the Applicants were required by the second Procedural Order to provide 36 monthly credit card statements to the City and the Board before the full hearing, but they provided only eight statements.
18A.K.M.F. stated that he had produced all relevant documents and that if the Board needed further documentation, he would authorize his bank to disclose it. This is not the Board’s process. The Applicants were required to produce all the documentation set out in the two Procedural Orders but failed to do so. As such, the City’s representative submitted that the application should be dismissed due to the Applicants’ failure to comply with the Procedural Orders.
19The Board finds that despite having given the Applicants two opportunities to comply with the original Procedural Order and provide the required documents to the City and the Board, the Applicants did not do so for reasons that were not explained. As a result, there is insufficient financial information to allow the Board to determine whether the Applicants were unable to pay all or part of their property taxes in the 2022 taxation year. As such, the application is dismissed.
ORDER
20The application filed by A.K.M.F. and N.A. with the City of Mississauga to have their 2022 property taxes cancelled, reduced, or refunded because they were unable to pay these taxes due to sickness or extreme poverty is dismissed.