Property tax, fee, relief announced for residents, businesses facing financial hardship amid COVID-19 outbreak

Yorkregion.com
March 31, 2020
Heidi Riedner

At a special council meeting held remotely on Friday, March 27, the City of Markham approved property tax and fee relief measures to help residents and businesses experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Markham is the first GTA municipality to offer extended financial relief, Mayor Frank Scarpitti said in a statement.

In response to concerns from some residents and local businesses that they won't be able to pay their property taxes on time, the city is offering extended relief measures until the end of the year as a way to give those experiencing financial hardship some additional time to recover.

Benefits for residents include:

No late payment (penalty and interest) charges for residential property taxpayers from April 1 to Dec. 31, 2020.

Property owners enrolled in the Preauthorized Payment Program (PPP) who are not able to make their April 1, 2020 tax payment should contact their bank to stop payment of the instalment.

For PPP payments beyond April 1, 2020 there is an option to opt out of the program at least two weeks in advance of the instalment date by completing the cancellation form online.

Elimination of the 2020 stormwater fee of $50.

Deferral of the April 1, 2020 water rate increase of 7.8 per cent.

Measures for businesses include:

No late payment (penalty and interest) charges for non-residential property taxpayers from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, 2020.

Deferral of the 2020 stormwater fee, which equates to a savings of $560 for a property valued at $2 million.

Elimination of the April 1, 2020 water rate increase of 7.8 per cent.

Suspension of the Municipal Accommodation Tax from April 1 to Dec. 31, 2020, to provide relief to hoteliers.

The city is calling on everyone who is able to pay property taxes to continue to do so, however, since it is critical for the city to continue to provide essential and necessary services to the entire community, such as fire protection, garbage collection and keeping roads and infrastructure in a state of good repair.

Residents and businesses are encouraged to sign up and use ePropertyTax online services to monitor their tax accounts and complete transactions.

For more information and updates about COVID-19 and affected city services, visit markham.ca/covid19