City opens door to tax relief to those who are sick or poor

The City of Sault Ste. Marie will now consider property tax appeals from those unable to pay because of sickness or extreme poverty. 

The appeals will require applicants to disclose sensitive personal health and/or financial information and won't be heard by city officials.

Instead, city council agreed this week to delegate such appeals to the Assessment Review Board, the same independent provincial tribunal that hears appeals from persons who believe there's an error in the assessed value or classification of their properties.

The Assessment Review Board (ARB) will be authorized to cancel, reduce or refund taxes in cases where the applicant is unable to pay, said Lisa Petrocco, the city's manager of taxation.

The change was made last month at the request of Ward 2 Coun. Luke Dufour and Ward 1's Sandra Hollingsworth.

Until now, city staff hasn't had an established decision-making framework or guiding principles on what constitutes sickness or extreme poverty and haven't been equipped to evaluate that kind of sensitive information in a fair and consistent manner to provide an appropriate recommendation, Petrocco said in a written report.

"Members hear appeals and make decisions based on the law and evidence presented at the hearing."

"Decisions by the ARB are final and binding, subject only to appeal to Divisional Court on questions of the law when the court grants leave to appeal."

Such appeals will not be open to the public to assure confidentiality of personal information.

Hearings only involve the individual who filed the appeal, the municipality and the ARB.

The financial impact of these types of write-offs cannot be quantified at this time, but staff anticipate that the current budget will be able to accommodate these applications within the existing tax write-off budget," Petrocco said.

The following are provided as examples of the kinds of events evidence applicants should supply to support their claim:

• income statements from any source, including an employer, long term disability, spouses income, income from a tenant, or any other source
• personal income tax assessments from Canada Revenue Agency
• documentation related to the Ontario Disability Support Program
• personal bank statements for all of your bank accounts
• a listing of all your assets and their value, including the value of the property, any other properties, vehicles, investments, RRSPs, Canada Savings Bonds and any other assets
• copies of monthly bills, and a detailed list of expenses, including items such as medications, medical supplies, transportation, loan payments, mortgage payments, groceries, personal expenses, child care, housing, life insurance and any other expenses
• supporting documents from doctors or other medical professionals for any medical care
• supporting documents to show that you were unable to work because of sickness, such as documents from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and
• any other evidence that you feel will support your position

ARB hearings are held in the applicant's municipality or as close to the municipality as possible.