Time passes and most things remain the same. After two years respite MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation) is again in operation assessing properties from the comfort of its armchair and the home owners are again subject to the gross unfairness of the system.

The corporation, in assessing a property, looks at the selling price of six similar properties in proximity to the target one and based on what they consider reasonable decide its assessed value without any on-site inspection.

This rough-guess system fails to determine what differences there might be between each one of the six. The price for which one sells might have no relationship to the selling price of another. The personal taste of one purchaser might lead to inflation in the asking price one may rely on septic for waste disposal and a well for potable water the quality of the brickwork and other important features which cannot be evaluated at arms length

It is painfully clear that this system of comparisons and assessed values is completely unfair and is, in truth a tax on unrealized capital gain. A virtually fixed pension far more than the employed who, today, earn sometimes upward of $60,000 annually. Pensioners receive an annul increment of about 1.8%, far below the C of L.

Most of the older generation purchased their domiciles at a time when incomes were far less lavish and homes reflected that fact. Now, if the MPAC system is permitted to continue, many of the old people will be forced from their homes and subjected to the upset and trauma associated with moving from ones home late in life. It should be remembered that these are the people who laboured long and hard to create the economic and social conditions that are now enjoyed by the many native born and immigrant families.

The Ombudsman for Ontario submitted about 22 recommendations to the Legislature after reviewing numerous complaints about this system but little appears to have been done to replace MPAC.

The cost of this Corporation to the taxpayer must be considerable and it would be far more efficient and effective if the responsibility for assessing was passed to the municipality in which the property is located. The local councils should be far more familiar with the properties it services than an organization located far away.

Assessed value should be more closely linked to the municipal services a property receives. Municipal water, sewers, paved roads, street lighting , snow removal and numbers in residence. All down- loaded services should be up-loaded immediately and short falls in revenues should be monitored and applied to the income tax stream. That would be unpopular for many high earners but it would be a far fairer system. With MPAC gone the savings would be considerable.

We are all responsible for the services we demand and that comes at a price, but let us make certain that each of us, the end users, pays a fair and equal share of the total costs.

Ken Hayward

Mono

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Is the Ontario Fair Assessment System

It is my belief that here has been an unfair shift of the property tax burden from half of the property tax payers in the province onto the other half of the property taxpayers in the province due to inequity in the rate of growth of assessed property values over the past 10 years.

Attached please find correspondence sent to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and the minister responsible for seniors seeking redress of this problem.

The mill rate is the basis of sharing the tax burden across the total value of properties in the municipality. Due to market forces half of the properties in each municipality increase in value faster than the average increase and therefore these property owners may be forced to pay more than "their share" even though services to these properties and other factors may not have increased. Many will think this is unfair and was not the intent of the Ontario Fair Assessment System when market value assessments were introduced ten years ago.

Would you consider assigning a reporter to investigate this claim and to determine the intent of the Ontario Fair Assessment System?

To investigate this you need to determine the average appreciation rate of the assessed value of properties within any given municipality.

Then you will find that a significant share of the tax burden has shifted from the owners of property that appreciated less than the average onto the backs of the other half of the property owners.

You might look at taxes paid for properties of equal value ten years ago and compare the taxes paid today (sample properties should have no assessed improvements).

The province will soon lift the moratorium on assessments in Ontario when this happens these unfair tax conditions will continue to hurt half of the taxpayers in the province.

Thank you for considering this matter.

Dear Minister:

I would appreciate it if you would add the following item, which is a serious problem for seniors, to the governments' agenda:

Would you have a public review of the Ontario Fair Assessment System?

Would you please determine if (since the OFAS was introduced) there has been an unfair shift of the property tax burden from half of the property tax payers in the province onto the other half of the property taxpayers in the province due to inequity in the rate of growth of assessed property values?

I am available to meet with you by phone or in person to discuss the impact of this item at your convenience.

Thank you for your consideration of this issue.

Jeff Mole Bala, ON