Tribunals Ontario
Tribunaux décisionnels Ontario
Assessment Review Board
Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE: November 21, 2024
Assessed Person(s): T.E.
Applicant(s): T.E.
Respondent(s): City of Mississauga
Property Location(s): Address Withheld
Municipality(ies): City of Mississauga
Roll Number(s): Roll Number Withheld
Appeal Number(s): 3523355
Taxation Year(s): 2023
Hearing Event No.: 784565
Legislative Authority: Section 357(1)(d.1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25
APPEARANCES:
Parties
Counsel/Representative
T.E.
Self-represented
City of Mississauga
Sean Doyle
HEARD: July 10, 2024 by video conference
ADJUDICATOR(S): Dan Weagant, Member
DECISION
OVERVIEW
1T.E. (the “Applicant”) filed an application with the City of Mississauga (“City”) to have her 2023 property taxes cancelled, reduced or refunded because she was unable to pay, due to either sickness or extreme poverty, pursuant to s. 357(1)(d1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 (“Act”).
2The City has passed a by-law, delegating its authority to determine such applications to the Assessment Review Board (“Board”) under s. 357(11) of the Act.
Background
3At the beginning of 2023, the Applicant was suffering from an illness that rendered her unable to maintain steady employment income. That condition continued throughout 2023.
Issues for the Hearing
4At issue in this proceeding is whether the Applicant’s 2023 property taxes should be cancelled, reduced or refunded because of her inability to pay, due to sickness or extreme poverty. This requires the Board to determine:
if the Applicant was unable to pay her 2023 property taxes;
if the Board determines she was unable to pay her property taxes, the Board must then determine if the reason she was unable to pay was either sickness or extreme poverty; and
if the Board determines she was unable to pay due to sickness or extreme poverty, the Board must then decide the amount of the property taxes levied in 2023 to be cancelled, reduced or refunded.
Result
5The Board finds that the Applicant has failed to demonstrate that she was unable to pay the property taxes levied in 2023. The application is dismissed.
ANALYSIS
Issue 1 – Was the Applicant able to pay her property taxes in 2023?
6The Applicant had an average income per month of $3,813, according to her testimony and the documents available at the hearing. This income was made up of $36,000 in health insurance benefits during the year and part time employment income of approximately $9,755.
7Average monthly household expenses incurred by the Applicant in 2023 were approximately $5,401 as follows (rounded to nearest dollar):
Utilities: $386
Telephone, internet, cable: $250
Property taxes: $646
Car and House Insurance: $351
Mortgage and Line of Credit payments: $3,000
Credit card payments: $468
Food / Groceries / household expenses, medication and car expenses, including parking for appointments: $1,300
8The Applicant explained that the health insurance benefits were $3,000 per month and that those benefits were paid directly to her bank to make payments on the first mortgage ($111 per week) and the accumulated debt on the line of credit. She testified further that in order to meet her financial commitments, she drew on the line of credit as necessary to help pay her expenses.
9The subject property is assessed at a value of $701,000. The amount owing on the mortgage and line of credit at the end of 2023 was approximately $322,000. In addition, the Applicant submitted that total credit card debt at the end of 2023 was approximately $40,162; an increase over the January 1, 2023 balance of approximately $31,361. This additional debt is after the Applicant made credit card payments in 2023 of $5,613.
10The Applicant testified that she had no other assets other than her 2008 Ford Escape that she estimated had a value of $7,000.
11The City took no position on the application as it has delegated its authority in determining such applications to the Board for disposition.
12The City testified that the property taxes levied in 2023 totaled $6,179.59 and that at the end of the year the balance on the tax account was $0, noting that a total of $7,750 was paid on the tax account in 2023.
13Further, the City accepted the fact that during 2023, the Applicant was sick and unable to work.
Findings on Issue 1
14The Board must first determine if the Applicant was able to pay her property taxes, based on the evidence available at the hearing.
15The shortfall experienced by the Applicant on overall household expenses incurred in 2023 (including the payment of the entirety of the property taxes levied) was made up by accessing the available equity reflected in the Applicant’s line of credit, and by using available room on her credit card limit.
16In M. M. U. v Toronto (City), 2015 CanLII 46826 (ON ARB) (“M.M.U.”), at paragraph 21 the Board held that:
In order to qualify under this section of the Act, the Applicant is required to show that every reasonable effort has been made to pay all or part of the taxes. There is an expectation that to qualify for relief under this section of the Act the condition cannot be one where an individual simply cannot make ends meet but amounts to a situation where the Applicant after having called upon every resource available to him and having applied every reasonable means to mitigate and manage his expenditures is left with no means of being able to pay some or all of their property taxes.
17M.M.U. is instructive in this case. It requires an Applicant to make use of the resources available to first address her expenses relating to the necessities of life and to maintaining her property.
18While the Applicant’s financial situation worsened over the course of 2023, she demonstrated that she was able to continue to meet her obligations by drawing on the resources available to her. In this case those resources included a line of credit and a credit card. Despite her financial challenges in 2023, this is clear evidence that the Applicant was able to pay the property taxes in 2023.
19The Board finds therefore, that the Applicant has failed to demonstrate that she was unable to pay the property taxes levied in 2023. Accordingly, the Board also finds that there is no reason to determine the reason for any inability to pay.
ORDER
20The application is dismissed.
"Dan Weagant"
DAN WEAGANT
MEMBER
Assessment Review Board
Website: www.tribunalsontario.ca/arb