N.S.A. v. Township of Tiny, 2023 CanLII 110304

Tribunals Ontario

Tribunaux décisionnels Ontario

Assessment Review Board

Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière

ISSUE DATE: November 17, 2023

FILE NO.: WR 185392

Assessed Person(s): N.S.A.; R.D.

Applicant(s): N.S.A.; R.D.

Respondent(s): Township of Tiny

Property Location(s): Address Withheld

Municipality(ies): Township of Tiny

Roll Number(s): Roll Number Withheld

Appeal Number(s): 3518168

Taxation Year(s): 2022

Hearing Event No.: 782279

Legislative Authority: Section 357(1)(d.1) of the Municipal Act, S.O.2001, c. 25, as amended

APPEARANCES:

Parties

N.S.A.; R.D.

Representative

Self-represented

Township of Tiny

Kim La Rose; Ashley Brodeur

HEARD: November 3, 2023 by telephone conference call

ADJUDICATOR(S): Margarita Okhovati, Member

DECISION

OVERVIEW

1This is a written decision of the oral decision rendered on November 3, 2023, requested by the Applicant.

Background

2N.S.A. and R.D. (the “Applicants”) filed an application to the Township of Tiny (the “Township”) to have their 2022 property taxes reduced, cancelled or refunded because they were unable to pay due to either sickness or extreme poverty under s. 357(1)(d.1) of the Municipal Act, S.O. 2001 c. 25 ( the “Act”).

3The Township passed a by-law delegating its authority to determine such applications to the Assessment Review Board (the “Board”).

Issue

4The Board must determine if all or part of the Applicants’ 2022 taxes should be cancelled, reduced or refunded as a result of the Applicants’ inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty. In order to make this determination, the Board must determine:

a) if the Applicants were unable to pay all or part of their property taxes; and

b) if the Board finds that they were unable to pay all or part of their property taxes, the Board must determine if the inability to pay was due to either sickness or extreme poverty.

Result

5The Board finds that the Applicants did not provide sufficient financial documentation for the Board to make a determination on whether all or part of the Applicants’ 2022 property taxes should be cancelled, reduced or refunded as a result of the Applicants’ inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty.

6The Applicants’ application for the 2022 taxation year is dismissed, due to the Applicants’ failure to comply with the Board’s Procedural Order.

Procedural Order

7On August 14, 2023, a pre-hearing conference was held to provide the Applicants with information about the full hearing and the documents that are required to support the application.

8The Board issued a Procedural Order (DM 184844) on August 16, 2023. This outlined the information that was discussed at the pre-hearing and confirmed the required documents the Applicants needed to serve the City and file with the Board to support the application. The Applicants were to serve and file the required documentation by September 12, 2023, and the Township to provide any material and response to the Applicants’ documentation by September 19, 2023.

9The Procedural Order clearly indicated that the Applicants bear the burden of proof to show that they were unable to pay their property taxes in the 2022 taxation year. It further emphasized that failure to provide the required documentation set out in the Order may result in a dismissal of the application.

10On consent of the parties, it was determined that the full hearing telephone conference call would be held on September 26, 2023, at 9:30 a.m.

Adjournment

11On September 26, 2023, the Applicants participated in the hearing however, they did not provide the Board the required documents to conduct the hearing. They asked the Board for an adjournment to prepare the necessary documents for the next full hearing. The Township did not object with the request. The Board granted the adjournment. With the parties’ consent, the Board scheduled the second full hearing on November 3, 2023, at 9:30 a.m. The Applicants were to serve and file all the required documents by October 20, 2023, and the Township to provide any material and response to the Applicants’ documentation by October 27, 2023.

12On November 3, 2023, the Applicants called in at 9:30 a.m. Applicant N.S.A.’s documents were incomplete and some of them were dated 2021 taxation year instead of 2022. Applicant R.D. did not provide the Board with any documents at all. When questioned as to why he did not submit the required documents, he stated that he was unable to do so.

ANALYSIS

13The Applicants bear the burden of proof to demonstrate that they were unable to pay their property taxes due to sickness of extreme poverty.

14In making a determination on the Applicants’ ability to pay their property taxes, the Board has to review the Applicants’ financial documentation in the 2022 taxation year, which includes but is not limited to: evidence of income from all sources, evidence of monthly expenses and evidence of all assets and liabilities.

15In R.Q. v. Mississauga (City), [2020] O.A.R.B.D. No. 219, the Board dismissed the Applicants’ application to cancel, reduce or refund of property taxes for failure to file the documentation that would have been necessary to determine that they were unable to pay taxes in 2019 because of sickness or extreme poverty.

16In this application, the Board finds that the Applicants have not complied with the Procedural Order. They failed to provide the necessary documents to the Board to make a determination on whether they were unable to pay all or part of their property taxes in the 2022 taxation year.

17Furthermore, the Applicants were unable to explain why they did not comply with the Board’s Rules of Practice and Procedure having had ample opportunity to do so. As mentioned above, Applicant R.D. stated simply that he cannot prepare the required documents. The Board finds that there is no prospect for preparing the documents should the Board have granted another extension to the Applicants.

ORDER

18The application filed by the Applicants to cancel, reduce or refund their property taxes for the 2022 taxation year, as a result of the Applicants’ inability to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty is dismissed.