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PAGE 14 But legal issues continue around industrial, commercial properties MPAC notices in the mail FOCUS L BY MARG. BRUINEMAN For Law Times that out as more than five million property valuations go out in the mail by the middle of November. Those assessments are important because they form the basis for municipal taxes on virtually every piece of privately owned property in Ontario. The work by the Munici- ocation, of course, is a key factor when it comes to property assessment. Homeowners will find the manufacturing sector, says MPAC's chief assessor Larry Hummel. "It plays out in the real estate market because it's an issue of sup- ply and demand." pal Property Assessment Corp. shows increases of up to 50 per cent or more over the past four years in some areas where the economy has been brisk and nearly no increases at all in areas that sustained major job losses as a result of the recession. "In the Windsor area, we're seeing virtually no change" given the severe job cuts in ern Ontario, where a brisk mining industry has helped push property values up by an average of 30 per cent. Farmland, Hummel adds, has seen sharp increases in value by as much as 70 per cent in some areas. The Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa saw increases above 20 per cent. According to Hummel, On- tario's real estate market gener- He contrasts that with north- ally continues to do fairly well, unlike much of the United States where severe problems due to overbuilding and lending issues remain a concern. Carla Nell, a paralegal work- the valuation of a property don't necessarily signal changes to the resulting tax bill. "Just because an assessment goes up by 40 per cent, that doesn't necessarily mean your tax bill is going to go up by 40 per cent," she says. "What municipalities ought to be doing is communicating to taxpayers . . . what that update to the tax values really means. These new values will become the bases for taxation for 2013 to 2016." The tax bill that follows really ing in tax policy with MTE Para- legal Professional Corp., points out that increases or decreases in depends upon the financial needs of the municipality and the over- all change in property values in that community. What really af- fects the taxes on any individual property is whether its assessment increased more or less than the av- erage in the same category in that particular municipality. Property owners who aren't happy with MPAC's assessment can make a request for reconsid- eration or file an appeal with the of assessments in 2008 with the goal of doing them anew every four years and phasing in the impact over the next four years. Over the years, the organization and some of its processes have undergone changes. Most of those changes, says Hummel, in- volved the information taxpayers could access. "One of learned from direction from the ombudsman . . . was greater transparency, the things that we systems in place to allow us to . . . provide a lot more information to the taxpayer. "Largely, it was around getting " says Hummel. ments, MPAC had suffered a crisis in credibility. In 2006, the Ontario ombudsman' Before that last round of assess- " it had received more complaints about MPAC over a short period s office announced Assessment Review Board. The deadline to do so is March 31. MPAC last conducted a round series of changes aimed at gain- ing public trust. Along with the current assessments arriving in the mail this fall, property own- ers are receiving a password that allows them to log onto the web site where they can access maps, numbers, and information. Hummel notes the context of the property value is important be- cause geography is a big factor in determining it. There were reviews of about than any other single agency and argued MPAC needed to work on gaining public confidence. Ombudsman André Marin in- vestigated the transparency of the property assessment process as well as the integrity and efficiency of decision-making at MPAC. The agency responded with a 3.25 per cent of all of the 2008 assessments following requests. Hummel says there was "a size- able" number of complaints in the industrial and commercial sectors that are more complex. As a result, some remain outstanding. "The Toronto bank tower ap- peals dating back to the 2001 tax year are still outstanding, Hummel. That case involves complaints " says With more than 1,400 pages of essential legal references, Ontario Lawyer's Phone Book is your best connection to legal services in Ontario. Subscribers can depend on the credibility, accuracy and currency of this directory year after year. 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Ontario courts and services, including a section for provincial government ministries, boards and commissions Contact information that is current, up to date and easy to find: Alphabetical tabs on every page for quick reference Complete address information in every lawyer's listing Special binding that allows the directory to lay flat when opened and stay flat Court of Appeal, which then sent it back to the Assessment Review Board. A hearing is scheduled for this November. As a result, sev- eral other cases have been on hold pending the outcome of this case. Carl Davis, who' The issue landed at the Ontario " "Blue pages" to highlight government listings THIS SPECIAL OFFER EXPIRES DECEMBER 1, 2012 Early Bird Multiple Copy Discounts 1-9 copies ................. 10-49 copies ..... .... 100 or more copies On subscription or One time purchase Canadian Law List, a Thomson Reuters business Prices subject to change without notice, and to applicable taxes. Visit carswell.com or call 1.800.387.5164 for a 30-day no-risk evaluation CANADIAN LAW LIST MPAC, is preparing to return before the board next month to finally resolve the issue with the bank towers. Had the appeal been different, he says, the impact on as- sessments could have been huge. "It hasn't s acting for evaluations," says Davis of Con- way Davis Gryski. "What it' is change the way they document it" to more clearly demonstrate the methodology and process. Ken Hughes, deputy trea- changed MPAC's s done OctOber 29, 2012 • Law times surer for the City of Ottawa, a member of the MPAC board of directors, and president of the Association of Municipal Tax Collectors of Ontario, notes the industrial and commercial sec- tor is an important aspect of the process because most munici- palities derive a larger portion of their revenue from it than the residential side. The challenge is that commercial buildings don't turn over as oſten as homes and they're markedly different from each other, all of which makes See Assessment, page 15 Untitled-4 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 12-09-11 11:12 AM