March 7, 2007

Gentlemen:

            Re: Current (Market) Value Assessment in the Province of Ontario

As all of you are aware, over the last three years there has been a lot of concern and discussion of the detrimental effects of Current (Market) Value Assessment (C.V.A.) on the property taxpayers of this province.

During this time frame, there has been a massive outcry from the electorate, various influential organizations, the media, and the Ombudsman of Ontario for fundamental changes to the property assessment taxation system under the control of the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC).

Thousands of written complaints have been sent to various levels of government, not to mention the number of phone calls, faxes and e-mails, asking and yes, pleading for changes in order to save homes and businesses from this archaic, insane method of determining the so called, “fair distribution” of the tax load.

All three of you along with all members of your respective caucuses are fully aware of the situation. We, and other organizations, have sent letters to you, Mr. Premier, when you had a lapse of memory; had several talks with you, John Tory, when you seemed interested; sent letters to you, Howard Hampton, and we all know you have had your cross-province road show to ask for input from the public in respect to how the assessment system should be changed. To date, not one of you have really done anything to help the people of this province out of this dreadful situation.

Yes, a freeze has been put on the current assessment system until after the fall provincial election, but everyone is aware that this is just a stalling tactic to keep the electorate off your backs for the moment, in the hopes that someone will come up with and easy cure or we will all forget until it is too late. Gentlemen, there is no easy cure! Hard decisions have to be made in the revamping of the system in order for the taxpayers to once again have some say and measure of control over how they are taxed and where that money is being spent. In the meantime, while you dither, people are losing their homes and livelihoods!

                                                           
Yet there is hope on the horizon, (can that really be true) and it comes from the corner of a very small part of Canada. It is the Province of Nova Scotia, where Market Value Assessment is being brought under control to some degree. (In fairness, it should be abandoned altogether.) It seems that at the fall 2006 sitting of the provincial legislature, all three parties agreed, to new “capping” limits for residential properties (Bill 92). The increasing assessments will be limited to the rate of inflation as determined by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) effective 2008-09. This has ranged from 1.8 to 3.4 percent between 2002 and 2005.

How is it gentlemen, that the Province of Nova Scotia is showing progressive leadership to the rest of Canada, and yes, for that matter, to all of North America where this backwards system of assessment has been adopted? In the meantime our politicians and bureaucrats here in Ontario, cannot seem to put their heads together and finally agree, in a non-partisan manner, to a similar limited amount of control of the system, until such time as an appropriate and a truly fair system of property taxation is put into place.
  
Somewhere in your hearts we feel all of you would like to solve this problem. Why not sit down together NOW, seriously talk about this issue, and in a truly cooperative atmosphere make the necessary changes? Then all of you could take credit for what you have done! Show the taxpayers of this province that all of you are the leaders that you purport to be and come up with the “Canadian way” of solving the crisis that is looming over your heads and all of ours.

It is time for all of you to act decisively and without haste (or possibly become sacrificial lambs in the election this fall).

For your reference, you can find more information on the Capping of Assessments in Nova Scotia at www.cntccanada.ca.

The taxpayers of this province are waiting for each of your respective replies.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Canadian National Taxpayers Coalition

Yours sincerely,

Paul Hazell,                                                       Dave Barnett,
President / CEO                                                Corporate Secretary
CNTC/CAFTA                                                

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