Tribunals Ontario Tribunaux décisionnels Ontario Assessment Review Board Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière
ISSUE DATE: December 04, 2024
Assessed Person(s): J.H.; S.J.
Applicant(s): J.H.
Respondent(s): City of Mississauga
Property Location(s): Address Withheld
Municipality(ies): City of Mississauga
Roll Number(s): Roll Number Withheld
Appeal Number(s): 3523476
Taxation Year(s): 2023
Hearing Event No.: 784871
Legislative Authority: Section 357(1)(d.1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25
APPEARANCES:
| Parties | Counsel/Representative |
|---|---|
| J.H. | Self-represented |
| City of Mississauga | Sean Doyle |
HEARD: September 26, 2024 by video conference
ADJUDICATOR(S): Dan Weagant, Member
DECISION
OVERVIEW
1J.H. (the “Applicant”) filed an application with the City of Mississauga (“City”) to have his 2023 property taxes cancelled, reduced or refunded because he 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.
Issues for the Hearing
3At issue in this proceeding is whether the Applicant’s 2023 property taxes should be cancelled, reduced or refunded because of his inability to pay, due to sickness or extreme poverty. This requires the Board to determine:
- if the Applicant was unable to pay his 2023 property taxes;
- if the Board determines he was unable to pay his property taxes, the Board must then determine if the reason he was unable to pay was either sickness or extreme poverty; and
- if the Board determines he 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
4The Board finds that the Applicant has failed to demonstrate that he was unable to pay the property taxes levied in 2023. The application is dismissed.
ANALYSIS
Issue 1 – Was the Applicant able to pay his property taxes in 2023?
5The Applicant had an average income per month of $6,172 according to his testimony and the documents available at the hearing. This income was made up of $19,498 in Canada Pension Plan benefits, $1,726 in GST rebates and other government payments and $52,842 in financial assistance from family.
6Average monthly household expenses incurred by the Applicant in 2023 were approximately $5,520 as follows (rounded to nearest dollar):
- Utilities: $540
- Property taxes: $610
- Car and House Insurance: $370
- Car maintenance and expenses: $83
- Credit card payments: $644
- Re-payments to family for financial support: $2,673
- Food / Groceries / household expenses: $600
7The Applicant explained that he received regular payments from his children over the year and when he had available funds he repaid a portion of those payments. The Applicant also explained that in 2023, he had a balance owing to his brother-in-law in the amount of $18,000; the remaining amount from a $28,000 interest free loan the Applicant took to do some home repairs in a previous year. There is no evidence that any payments on the $18,000 balance of that loan were made in 2023.
8The subject property is assessed at a value of $830,000. There is no mortgage or home equity line of credit registered. The Applicant made regular payments to two credit cards over the year. Both of these accounts were in good standing at the end of 2023. The Applicant took an additional loan to pay for the replacement of appliances in 2023. That account was also in good standing.
9The City took no position on the application as it has delegated its authority in determining such applications to the Board for disposition.
10The City testified that the property taxes levied in 2023 totaled $7,316.77 and that at the end of the year the balance on the tax account was $0.
Findings on Issue 1
11The Board must first determine if the Applicant was able to pay his property taxes, based on the evidence available at the hearing.
12The Applicant’s income during 2023 was approximately $650 more per month than his reported expenses. The Board notes that he relied on family financial support during the year and that he repaid portions of those payments from his family. The net amount of those supports after the repayments amounts to approximately $23,766 in 2023.
13The Applicant relied on family supports to meet his obligations. The Board has addressed this situation in M. M. U. v Toronto (City), 2015 CanLII 46826 (ON ARB) (“M.M.U.”). At paragraph 21 of that decision, 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. …
14In this case, the Applicant drew resources from his family, paid portions of those payments back and still was able to pay his property taxes. The Applicant called upon the resources available to him in 2023 to meet his financial obligations. This is good evidence that the Applicant was able to pay the property taxes levied in 2023.
15The Board finds therefore, that the Applicant has failed to demonstrate that he 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
16The application is dismissed.
"Dan Weagant"
DAN WEAGANT MEMBER Assessment Review Board Website: www.tribunalsontario.ca/arb