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Synthia Kloot Senior Vice President, Operations, Colliers International
Oliver Tighe Executive Managing Director, Commercial Appraisal Group, Colliers
Tanya Nicholson Director, Marketing, Landlord and Investment Sales, Colliers International
Madeleine Nicholls Managing Director, GTA, Colliers
David Bowden Vice Chairman, Head of Strategy and Consulting, Colliers Canada
Scott Bowden Head of Valuation & Advisory Services, Colliers Canada
Sarah Bramley and Amy Vuong Colliers International
Brendan Neeson Executive Director of Property Tax Services, Alberta, Colliers International
Lex Perry Vice President, Marketing, Communications and Research, Colliers Canada
Colliers National Multifamily Team, East, Colliers Colliers National Multifamily Team, East
Karl Innannen Managing Director, Broker, Colliers, Kitchener
Shiri Rosenberg Director of Asset Strategy, Innovation and Community Spaces, Colliers
Colin Alves & Jean-Marc Dube Colliers Toronto & Montreal
Janina Franceschutti Executive V-P, National Investment Services, Colliers Canada
Eric Horvath, CCIM Senior Vice President & Partner, Colliers
Adam Grisack Director, Valuation & Advisory Services, Colliers Canada
Eliezer Timolien Senior Research Analyst, Colliers
Robyn Baxter Senior Vice President & Co-Managing Director, Workplace Advisory, Colliers Canada
Arnold Fox Senior Vice President, Real Estate Broker, Montreal, Colliers
Alam Pirani Executive Managing Director, Colliers Hotels
Sarah Bramley Associate Vice President, Workplace Strategy & Innovation, Colliers
Bill Hennessey Managing Director, Moncton Brokerage, Colliers
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Dayma Itamunoala Associate Vice President, Sales Representative, Toronto Brokerage, Colliers
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Lilian Kan Director, Development Management, Colliers Strategy & Consulting, Vancouver
Bonita Craig & Robyn Baxter Colliers Canada
Daniel Holmes President, Brokerage Services | Canada, Colliers
Sehaj Gill Associate Director, Property Tax Services, Colliers
Jane Domenico Senior Vice-President & National Lead, Retail Services
Robin McLuskie Managing Director, Canadian Hotel Brokerage, Colliers
Douglas Pulver Executive Managing Director, Colliers Vancouver
Pat Phillips Senior Vice President, Colliers Vancouver Brokerage
Rob Newman Senior Director of Property Tax Services, Colliers
Adam Jacobs Senior National Director, Research, Colliers Canada
Darrell Hurst Darrell Hurst, Senior Managing Director, Brokerage, Colliers
Jean-Marc Dubé and Arnold Fox Colliers Montreal
Robert Brazzell Managing Director, Ontario Property Tax Services, Colliers Canada
Damian Bernacik Director, Legal Services, Property Tax Services
Susan Thompson Associate Director of Research, Colliers Vancouver
Peter Garrigan, SIOR Executive Managing Director, Greater Toronto Area | Colliers Brokerage
Rob Purdy Executive Director, Colliers Canada’s Valuation and Advisory Services
Ryan McIver Senior Vice-President and Broker, Colliers Toronto
Tonya Lagrasta Head of ESG, Colliers Real Estate Management Services Canada
Rick Charlton Senior Vice President, Colliers REMS
James Glen Senior Vice-President, Colliers Valuation and Advisory Services
Roxanne Gora Director, Valuations and Advisory Services, Colliers Montreal

Recent

Why Ontario's property tax assessment system needs annual reassessments

Robert Brazzell
Managing Director, Ontario Property Tax Services, Colliers Canada

Property taxation in what is now Canada existed before Confederation. Over time, distinct systems have developed in each province built on a common foundation — property assessment based on market value.

Some form of market value assessment is the gold standard for the distribution of property tax; integral to this is the transparency implicit in assessed values based on current market transactions.

The more assessments reflect current market conditions, the more transparent and fair the distribution of property tax. 

For 2022 and 2023, property taxes in Ontario are based on the Jan. 1, 2016 real estate market.

This disconnect of property assessment values from recent market conditions is adversely impacting property owners in Ontario, particularly those in the commercial real estate industry, and is untenable.  

Property tax assessment systems must be responsive to the needs of those most impacted.

There are two integral components to this: assessments based on current market value and a transparent, smoothly functioning appeal process.

The Government of Ontario has noted, “A well-functioning property tax and assessment system is critical to ensuring that Ontario remains competitive while supporting local services and education.”

Presently, the system in Ontario does not meet the needs of commercial real estate property owners. 

Transitioning Ontario’s property assessment and taxation system to annual reassessment would address shortcomings in this system while restoring transparency and fairness for all stakeholders. 

A tax system compromising economic competitiveness

Investment capital is fluid. Real estate investors seek markets with certainty and transparency.

However, both are being compromised by the property tax assessment system in Ontario.

Due to a cumbersome and outdated system, commercial real estate investors in Ontario lack the desired certainty, transparency and fairness in property taxation.

If not addressed, investors will inevitably seek markets with more favourable conditions. 

The distribution of property tax according to value is critical to Ontario’s Ad Valorem tax system.

The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), a not-for-profit corporation funded by Ontario municipalities, sets property tax assessments for all properties in Ontario.

As the largest assessment jurisdiction in North America, MPAC assesses and classifies more than five million Ontario properties estimated at over $3.4 trillion in value — based on Jan. 1, 2016 market conditions.  

Assessed values from the Jan. 1, 2016 general reassessment were intended to apply to 2017 through 2020 taxation. This period was extended and Ontario now has a seven-year tax assessment cycle, including the 2021, 2022 and 2023 tax years.

This is in place despite annual reassessment having long been accepted as best practice and widely adopted in Canada and the United States. 

Ontario’s four-year assessment cycle was already the longest in Canada. Both B.C. and Alberta have, for many years, conducted annual property tax assessments.

By 2024, Canada’s remaining nine provinces will have conducted — on average — five reassessments since Jan. 1, 2016.

Certain jurisdictions, including New York State, even provide funding to encourage and facilitate more frequent reassessments. Ontario’s property taxation system is not conducive to a competitive business environment.  

Dated assessments create property tax inequities 

Commercial real estate owners accept their obligation to support municipal governments and the education system by paying their fair share of property tax.

This commitment is based in part on the understanding that this tax is fairly and equitably imposed — that it is based on current or, at least, recent market values.  

A properly functioning property tax system requires that relative tax burdens change with property values.

This provides for a fair and equitable distribution of municipal and school funding. It is predicated on frequent reassessments.

The International Association of Assessing Officers has a Standard on Property Tax Policy with a core principle that assessments be “based on Market Value with regular and frequent (preferably annual) updates.”.

Reassessment delays mean inequities in taxation between property classes, within property classes, and geographically.  

The present reassessment delay means a significant and perhaps, even dramatic, property tax shift is pending. This could profoundly impact Ontario property owners.

Responding with tax mitigation measures like capping, clawbacks and phase-in assessments will increase administrative inefficiency and complexity.

When property values are not representative of current market value — and myriad tax mitigation measures are implemented — taxpayers have difficulty understanding how their property taxes are calculated.

Ontario risks perpetuating what is, likely, the most complex property tax assessment system in Canada.

Appeals perform the audit function for property assessment

Canada’s income tax system is based on accurate and honest self-reporting by taxpayers and audits by the Canada Revenue Agency. Conversely, property tax assessments are set by a government agency.

These property tax assessments are subject to audit by individual taxpayers — using personal resources through an appeal process. 

Annual reassessments and appeals would dramatically improve the property tax assessment system in Ontario. Benefits would include simplifying the role and processes of the Ontario Assessment Review Board.

Challenges in the appeals process due to the multi-year cycle include the greatly increased risks from multiple years of tax appeals based on a single date, a lengthy and complex appeal process and cumbersome interlocutory proceedings.

All of the above increase the uncertainty and reduce the transparency of property taxation in Ontario.  

Transitioning to annual reassessments, and a robust annual appeal process, would help ensure Ontario remains competitive while supporting local services and education.

Annual reassessments and appeals are best practices in any property tax assessment system.

In many larger jurisdictions, including New York City, Texas, and Los Angeles County, as well as B.C. and Alberta, they are the norm.

These practices reduce the complexity of appeals, thereby increasing the effectiveness of taxpayer-funded property tax audits; they also improve business competitiveness and limit the need for tax mitigation measures.

By shifting to an annual reassessment cycle in the property assessment and taxation system, Ontario could facilitate stability, accuracy and efficiency of property taxation.

It would enhance fairness for taxpayers and property owners. 

 

 

 

 


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