McGuinty calls property assessments 'unrealistic'
McGuinty calls property assessments 'unrealistic' but Ontario Premier won't direct municipal agency to take a fresh look at taxes in 2009
TORONTO — Municipal property assessments that were mailed to homes across Ontario this fall are “unrealistic” given the dramatic drops in the real estate market, Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted Wednesday.
Despite that, the province will not direct Ontario's Municipal Property Assessment Corporation to scrap the 2008 assessments, the first in several years, and do fresh ones in 2009.
Instead, the Premier called on municipal governments to recognize that the assessments are out of date when they prepare local property tax bills.
“You would hope that municipal councils would act reasonably and responsibly given the circumstances and recognize that that perhaps was an unrealistic assessment,” Mr. McGuinty told reporters at his year-end news conference.
A homeowners group and the opposition parties quickly blasted McGuinty's comments as out of line.
“There's nothing municipalities can do; if it's unrealistic it's unrealistic,” said Bob Topp of the Coalition After Property Tax Reform.
“Some people are going to have huge increases way out of line with what their properties are now worth. Municipalities are powerless to do anything about that.”
The opposition parties said the Liberal government created the problem with assessments by freezing them for several years prior to the 2007 Ontario election — to avoid a backlash from homeowners angry about big increases — and then scrapping annual assessments in favour of a four-year cycle.
“People are facing high taxes due to skyrocketing assessments of their homes at the same time that the value of their homes is plummeting,” Progressive Conservative finance critic Tim Hudak said.
“The problem with Dalton McGuinty's new assessment scheme is that it locks people in at the height of the hot housing market with no sign of relief until 2012.”
Mr. McGuinty's suggestion that municipalities should keep the unrealistic assessments in mind instead of scrapping the 2008 assessments was “beyond ridiculous,” the New Democrats charged.
“The whole situation here is artificial,” NDP Leader Howard Hampton said.
“The McGuinty government, in the run-up to an election, said we're not going to deal with property taxes until after the election. Now people are hit with what in effect was a three-year combination all at once that doesn't reflect current economic circumstances.”
The Tories want Ontario to cap assessments at a five per cent increase while the New Democrats want assessments frozen until a home is sold, saying only that would give a true value of a property.
Mr. McGuinty dismissed suggestions about capping rates, and said the Ontario government introduced a four-year phase-in for the new assessments to help homeowners adjust to any increases.
“Assessments are one thing and tax rates are another, and it's the combination of the two that determines your tax increase as a property taxpayer,” he said.
“What we've done ... is require that these be phased in over a four-year time frame to mitigate the impact of a dramatic increase.”
British Columbia Premier Gold Campbell announced last month that he would freeze property assessments at 2007 levels to help people cope with what he called the turbulence in property values, and put off new assessments until late next year.
Source: KEITH LESLIE, The Canadian Press
TORONTO — Municipal property assessments that were mailed to homes across Ontario this fall are “unrealistic” given the dramatic drops in the real estate market, Premier Dalton McGuinty admitted Wednesday.
Despite that, the province will not direct Ontario's Municipal Property Assessment Corporation to scrap the 2008 assessments, the first in several years, and do fresh ones in 2009.
Instead, the Premier called on municipal governments to recognize that the assessments are out of date when they prepare local property tax bills.
“You would hope that municipal councils would act reasonably and responsibly given the circumstances and recognize that that perhaps was an unrealistic assessment,” Mr. McGuinty told reporters at his year-end news conference.
A homeowners group and the opposition parties quickly blasted McGuinty's comments as out of line.
“There's nothing municipalities can do; if it's unrealistic it's unrealistic,” said Bob Topp of the Coalition After Property Tax Reform.
“Some people are going to have huge increases way out of line with what their properties are now worth. Municipalities are powerless to do anything about that.”
The opposition parties said the Liberal government created the problem with assessments by freezing them for several years prior to the 2007 Ontario election — to avoid a backlash from homeowners angry about big increases — and then scrapping annual assessments in favour of a four-year cycle.
“People are facing high taxes due to skyrocketing assessments of their homes at the same time that the value of their homes is plummeting,” Progressive Conservative finance critic Tim Hudak said.
“The problem with Dalton McGuinty's new assessment scheme is that it locks people in at the height of the hot housing market with no sign of relief until 2012.”
Mr. McGuinty's suggestion that municipalities should keep the unrealistic assessments in mind instead of scrapping the 2008 assessments was “beyond ridiculous,” the New Democrats charged.
“The whole situation here is artificial,” NDP Leader Howard Hampton said.
“The McGuinty government, in the run-up to an election, said we're not going to deal with property taxes until after the election. Now people are hit with what in effect was a three-year combination all at once that doesn't reflect current economic circumstances.”
The Tories want Ontario to cap assessments at a five per cent increase while the New Democrats want assessments frozen until a home is sold, saying only that would give a true value of a property.
Mr. McGuinty dismissed suggestions about capping rates, and said the Ontario government introduced a four-year phase-in for the new assessments to help homeowners adjust to any increases.
“Assessments are one thing and tax rates are another, and it's the combination of the two that determines your tax increase as a property taxpayer,” he said.
“What we've done ... is require that these be phased in over a four-year time frame to mitigate the impact of a dramatic increase.”
British Columbia Premier Gold Campbell announced last month that he would freeze property assessments at 2007 levels to help people cope with what he called the turbulence in property values, and put off new assessments until late next year.
Source: KEITH LESLIE, The Canadian Press
Labels: News, Real Estate
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