Fair Tax Commission
Reprinted, with permission, from the Muskoka Lakes Association Newsletter, (Winter 1994).
On December 16, 1993, the Ontario Fair Tax Commission released its report to the Minister of Finance, making 135 recommendations designed to achieve more fairness in the province’s tax system. The core issues addressed in the report are property taxation and the funding of education, and we are pleased that the Commission has supported the reforms which we have sought to achieve over the past decade. Highlights of the report include the following changes which will directly affect you and your tax bill:
• The Province should assume full responsibility for the funding of education, and allocate increased funds to school boards based on per student costs and community needs.
• Education should no longer be funded from property tax revenues, which would be replaced with funding from provincial general sources, principally income and sales tax.
• Assessment should not be based on the market value of property. Residential assessment should instead reflect the usefulness of a property, and rental value per square foot is recognized as a more accurate indicator in this regard. Unit measurements based on lot dimensions, building size and type would ensure simplicity and ease of understanding by taxpayers.
• These reforms will achieve greater fairness in property taxation, by reducing the burden of education financing, and by basing assessment on a measure of present utility rather than future value. They will result in property taxes which to a greater extent will reflect a property owner’s abilitytopay. The Commission’s recommendations for increased reliance on more progressive forms of taxation may be contentious but we strongly support the reforms in property taxation, assessment, and the funding of education. The adoption of these recommendations by the government will address many of the concerns expressed by the Muskoka Lakes Association, and will represent a significant achievement in taxation reform to which we have contributed.
[The reader will note that the article reviews the Recommendations of the Ontario Fair Tax Commission. Hopefully, some day, the recommendations will become reality.]
