Mississauga defers property tax payments to lessen coronavirus impact on residents, businesses

City faces around $28.5M in losses following coronavirus outbreak

Yorkregion.com
March 23, 2020
Steve Cornwall

Mississauga council has voted to defer property tax payments until the summer.

Council made the decision, which goes for both residential and commercial taxes, at an emergency meeting on Thursday, March 19, in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

April’s property tax payment is now due in July, May’s in August, and the June levy will be due in September.

The deferral is part of measures the city is implementing with the aim of lessening COVID-19-related impacts on residents and businesses.

In a Friday, March 20, release, the city said that post-dated cheques and pre-authorized property tax payments will also not be cashed until July, August and September, respectively.

While there is now a three-month window without payments, the city plans to collect all residential and commercial property taxes by the end of the year.

In the lead-up to the emergency meeting, the Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) had asked the city for an immediate deferral program and to waive late payments and charges for property taxes.

In a presentation to council, Gary Kent, Mississauga's commissioner of corporate services, said MBOT’s proposal for a 50 per cent reduction in property taxes “would not be within our realm of possibility.”

“That would be half our budget and that's about $300 million,” he said.

Ward 5 Coun. Carolyn Parrish said other levels of government have more taxation powers than the municipality and Mississauga operations would be in peril if MBOT’s property tax relief plan was implemented.

"We're going to hand over all that money, and we boast that we've got (many) top Fortune 500 companies," she said. "Why aren't they all stepping up and throwing a couple of million into MBOT and letting them distribute it to the small businesses?”

Property taxes account for around $537.2 million, or 58 per cent of Mississauga’s planned revenue in 2020.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Mississauga has shut down all facilities and recreational programs until at least April 5.

City-run March Break programs were also cancelled. Full refunds were pledged for participants and the city has also promised Mississauga staff affected by the cancellations to be paid for all scheduled shifts until April 5.

Kent said MiWay revenue has dropped 60 per cent since the coronavirus outbreak. If the trend continues, the city could lose $14 million on transit by July, he added.

In all, Kent said Mississauga was facing losses of around $28.5 million, including a projected $7 million loss of recreation-related revenues.

Some losses could be offset by around $2.5 million in lower utility costs, he said.

The city operating at deficit for the year "is pretty much guaranteed,” Kent said, and Mississauga would draw on reserves and look to the federal and provincial governments for help.

Since Kent’s presentation, the city has announced plans to reduce MiWay service and make transit free in the city until the Region of Peel lifts its social distancing recommendation.

In 2020, the city anticipated $189.1 million from user fees, around 20 per cent of Mississauga's expected revenue for the year.