GTA property tax ranking ‘misleading and inaccurate,’ says Town of Georgina

Authors of real estate report stand behind data as education piece for homebuyers

Yorkregion.com
July 23, 2018
Heidi Riedner

The Town of Georgina says a report comparing property tax rates across the GTA released last week is “misleading” and “inaccurate.”

Canadian real estate brokerage and website company Zoocasa released a comparison of tax rates across the GTA ranking 33 municipalities and cities across the GTA.

The report touched more than a few nerves with Georgina council, who spent a good portion of two council meetings July 18 vehemently decrying the metrics used in the rankings, which used Toronto Real Estate Board home sale figures rather than the MPAC assessment figures actually used to calculate property taxes.

Georgina took issue with comparing municipal taxes in such a way, with Georgina’s acting chief administrative officer, Dave Reddon, saying the taxation data is “misleading and simply untrue.”

Average home sales in Georgina for June 2018 of $596,946 used for comparison in the sampling “would be reflective of real estate values being realized in 2018, but not relevant to how property taxes are actually calculated," Reddon said, adding the actual average property taxes for 2018 in Georgina are $3,775, not the $6,723 listed by Zoocasa.

Reddon said applying the tax rate to market value rather than MPAC assessment simply “doesn’t work.”

“The values are significantly different and Zoocasa is very flawed in what they are presenting as property taxes. And when you transfer that into a line of where Georgina’s property taxes go, that’s where it gets misleading and untrue.”

Zoocasa’s general manager, Penelope Graham, defended the company’s comparison.

“We stand behind the data,” Graham said, adding the report very clearly stated it used TREB real estate sales figures from June 2018 for each of the regions compared rather than MPAC figures because that is “a more accurate and current reflection of the housing market.”

“This was meant to be an education piece for homebuyers,” she said. “People often don’t factor in property taxes as a carrying cost. A buyer moving from Toronto to another GTA region for affordability purposes may be able to find a home at a lower price, but may be surprised to find themselves paying more property taxes than expected because the new city has a higher property tax rate.”

Reddon said while it is nice to know what houses are actually selling for in your area, applying a tax rate that isn’t calculated based on actual, defendable values on the assessment roll is simply “wrong.”

“It’s not doing anything but skewing what the real property taxes are.”

“For 2018, the actual average current value assessment in Georgina was $352,425 and the rate is 1.071426. The tax rate used in the article is 1.12810, which is our 2017 tax rate.”

Acknowledging Zoocasa used Georgina’s 2017 rate of 1.12810 instead of the 2018 rate of 1.071426, Graham said that was because 2017 was the most recent tax rate available on the town’s website.

She said the rankings would not have changed in the report, however, since Georgina’s tax rate is still higher than the next closest municipality of Innisfil.

She added the rankings are based on tax rates, not the calculated property taxes listed, which are intended as a sampling using sales figures.

“Because property taxes increase in tandem with a property’s value, that can lead to tax shock for homeowners in neighbourhoods where home prices are rapidly appreciating,” she said.

Georgina Mayor Margaret Quirk said while Georgina’s tax rate may be high, Georgina’s average household pays the second lowest amount of taxes in York Region.

Reddon said Georgina was listed in the mid-range out of 25 municipalities, according to a BMA Consulting ranking, with 110 municipalities participating in the comprehensive 2017 study.

“Georgina was ranked the seventh lowest out of the 25 municipalities,” he said.

Quirk encouraged residents with questions about their taxes to go to the source for information and contact the town directly.

“Staff and members of council are always happy to provide accurate information.”

MPAC current value assessment used for the 2018 taxation year is a home’s 2012 assessed value, according to MPAC, plus 50 per cent of the difference in value assessed from 2012 over 2016.

Another re-assessment will occur in 2020 to establish an updated value assessment and date for the next taxation phased cycle, Reddon said.

“The four-year phase-in is to mitigate fluctuations in the housing market,” he said.

For more information regarding property taxes, people can visit the town’s website at georgina.ca.