TheStar.com - Property tax system slammed

Barb Joly is mystified = how a=20 semi-detached home in East York, with a basement too low to stand up in, = a=20 kitchen too small for a dishwasher and just one bathroom, is worth = $456,000.=20

"If you can find someone to give me nearly half a million dollars = for my=20 house I'd sell it =97 but they'd be crazy, absolutely crazy," said Joly, = a Toronto=20 high school teacher.

Homeowners like Joly, angry over their property tax assessments, = now have=20 until the end of June to appeal.

The province is extending the deadline by 90 days after Ontario's = ombudsman released a report yesterday slamming the Crown corporation = that=20 produces assessments for being secretive, inaccurate and unfair.

Property value assessments, by the Municipal Property Assessment = Corp.=20 (MPAC), combined with the municipal tax rate, determine how much tax a = home or=20 business owner pays.

Extending the appeal period, which would have ended Friday, is = "prudent=20 and wise" given the controversy, says Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.=20

He will introduce legislation today to change the deadline.

After a five-month investigation, Ombudsman Andr=E9 Marin made 22 = recommendations designed to help level the playing field for property = taxpayers=20 up against MPAC, which he says has a "superiority complex," engages in = "cloak=20 and dagger behaviour," and "cutthroat manoeuvring around property = owners."

"Never in the 30-year history of this office have so many = complaints been=20 received in so short a period about a single public agency," Marin said, = noting=20 that more than 3,700 people contacted his office about MPAC.

His recommendations for change include:

MPAC should rely less on its mass appraisal computer system and more = on what=20 a specific property sells for to decide its value. (The report points to = the=20 example of a condo purchased for $503,000 yet being assessed at $617,000 = the=20 very next day.)

When a property owner appeals, it should be up to MPAC to prove why = the=20 assessed value is correct instead of the current system where the owner = has to=20 prove why it is wrong.

If, on appeal, the review board lowers a property's assessment then = MPAC=20 should use that new number as a base for future years, instead of = returning to=20 the original figure the following year, as has happened in the past.=20

MPAC should provide taxpayers with more information about their = property so=20 they can spot mistakes, such as an assessment based on a three-car = garage when=20 the property has only one.

The Ministry of Finance and MPAC have agreed to implement 18 of = the=20 recommendations immediately and study the other four, including whether = to make=20 MPAC defend its assessment at an appeal.

MPAC is committed to a "culture of continuous improvement," and = welcomes=20 Marin's report, said Carl Eisenberg, president and chief administrative = officer.

Improving staff training, and a new computer system that will be = running=20 later this year, will go a long way to meeting many of Marin's = recommendations,=20 he said.

"We want to address some of the concerns that relate to not = having as=20 good a system as the taxpayers in this province deserve," Eisenberg = said.

Relying on a new computer system won't be enough, Marin said.

"The computer system needs work ... but attitude and culture is = the=20 bigger culprit," he said.

"MPAC treats the taxpayer and property owner as the adversary."=20

Joly says she has had to battle both MPAC's inaccurate computer = system=20 and its unhelpful staff.

Here's the short version.

The 2001 assessment pegged her East York home at $299,000. She = asked that=20 the assessment be reconsidered, and it was dropped to $275,000.

Then, to her surprise, the 2003 assessment raised the value to = $382,000.

This time she appealed.=20

The morning of the appeal, she was offered a meeting with the = MPAC=20 assessor, who admitted that she had made a mistake and dropped the value = to=20 $295,000.

Joly thought for sure this was the last time she'd have to argue = with=20 MPAC.

Yet when the 2005 assessment arrived on her doorstep, she found = her home=20 =97 the same, unchanged home =97 had been assessed at $456,000.

"I believe in paying my fair share. I never complain about income = tax,=20 but this is not fair and it's not a fair system," Joly said.

"It really penalizes people who don't know how to fight."

It's tough even on those who do.

"I'm frustrated by the whole thing. Every time it's a fight and = an=20 argument and I have to keep reproving the same thing over and over = again," said=20 Joly, who is appealing again.

"It's just so ridiculous but it has such a huge impact. I know = people who=20 have had to sell their homes because they weren't going to be able to = afford the=20 taxes and that's really sad," Joly said.

That's something Bob Topp knows about as well.

Topp lives in Toronto and owns a cottage near Parry Sound that = has been=20 in the family for four generations.

The assessment went up 104 per cent this year.=20

"My kids will not be able to afford to keep this property," he = said.

Topp, who represents a large group of cottage owners, said that = while=20 he's supportive of Marin's recommendations, which will make the system = more=20 transparent and easier to use, they won't solve the problem of = skyrocketing=20 assessments.

Marin, said it's outside his mandate to review the broader issues = of=20 whether using current market value to assess properties is the right = one.

Most of Marin's recommendations, such as making it easier for = people to=20 actually talk to the people making the decisions on their assessments, = and=20 making staff input all the relevant information into the computer = system, can be=20 implemented quickly, he said.

Marin will be following up in six months to see what's happened.

"We want to hear from property owners whether or not, as of = today, MPAC=20 does change its practices," he said.

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