ASSESSMENT UNIT – ABOUT legislated tax rebates, TAX exemptions and vacancy rebates – policy
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Approved By |
PROGRAM MANAGER, ASSESSMENT |
Approval Date |
FEBRUARY 13, 2012 |
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Section |
Tax adjustments/ Support and assessment Control |
Effective Date Version 2.0 |
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Subsection |
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Revision Date |
February 13, 2012 |
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Policy Statement
The Assessment Unit is committed to the timely and accurate processing of property tax adjustments as a result of property assessment changes, tax rebates, vacancy rebates, exemptions and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) functions in an efficient and effective fashion while also providing a superior level of customer service to its clients.
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Purpose
The aim of this policy is to ensure the consistent delivery of a comprehensive, clearly defined process that can be readily implemented by all stakeholders. To accomplish this, the Assessment staff must continually keep these objectives in mind:
· To adhere to all governing legislation · To ensure compensating controls are in effect · To use clear and concise instructions broken down by both level of responsibility and the logical flow of tasks · To avoid overly technical terminology · To maintain a thorough understanding of all relevant legislation · To ensure constant and thorough communication within workgroups so as to ensure that overall Unit and Branch goals are consistently achieved within respective deadlines.
Application
This policy applies to all staff responsible for program delivery within the Assessment Unit. This includes compiling and tracking such documentation; processing and approving the resultant tax, penalty and/or interest adjustments; issuing tax adjustment and vacancy rebate letters, refund forms and/or revised tax statements; handling enquiries and filing and storing completed tax adjustments and vacancy rebate files. The Finance Specialist I, Finance Specialist II, Assessment Control Coordinator, Tax Adjustments/Support Coordinator and Program Manager, Assessment are involved in these various processes.
Policy RequirementsTo guarantee high standards and fairness in dealing with such rebates or exemptions, the Assessment Unit is involved in these activities:
¨ Handling tax rebates and exemptions
In handling tax rebate applications for qualifying licensed childcare centers (must be both non-profit and non home-based) and houses of refuge, staff shall follow the tax mitigation programs in the Tax Ratios and Other Tax Policies annual report as approved by Council.
Ontario Statutes 1911, Chapter 47 must be followed when reviewing and applying tax exemptions for the Ottawa City Union of Kings Daughters & Sons.
Lastly, for the Royal Canadian Legion and the Polish Combatants Association of Canada, staff shall follow the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, Section 6.1; the City of Ottawa Bylaw 2007-476 and the tax mitigation programs in the Tax Ratios and Other Tax Policies annual report as approved by Council, in its review and processing of tax exemptions.
¨ Handling vacancy rebates
In the case of handling and processing vacancy rebates, staff shall follow the Municipal Act, 2001, Section 364, as well as Ontario Regulation 325/01, in order to determine who may apply for a rebate, what constitutes eligibility requirements and the manner whereby any resultant adjustments, recalculations or recoveries are applied to the tax roll.
¨ Calculating penalty adjustments as a result of tax rebates or exemptions applied or interest paid towards overdue vacancy rebate adjustments
For the payment of applicable interest on complete vacancy rebate applications not processed by the municipality within 120 days of their receipt, staff shall follow specifically Subsection 364.(20) of the Municipal Act (no penalty reversals are made in relation to vacancy rebates). For all penalty adjustments on other tax rebate and/or tax exemption adjustments, staff shall follow Section 345 of the Municipal Act, 2001, dependent upon what resultant adjustment is applied (no interest payments are made in relation to such tax rebates or exemption applications.
¨ Managing completed tax rebate, exemption and vacancy rebate files
All completed tax rebate, tax exemption and vacancy rebate files must be filed away and eventually stored offsite in strict adherence to the City’s Records Management System (IM-RMS) protocols and standards. This will ensure their prompt retrieval as required, and guarantee that the City permanently holds all legal documentation.
¨ Reporting
Management will periodically utilize statistical Impromptu Reports prepared from information found on VTAX to do the following: · Track the Unit’s progress in handling workloads · Provide information annually for the Financial Information Return (FIR) and Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative (OMBI) to assist in establishing province-wide municipal statistics and benchmarks
Responsibilities
The Finance Specialist I (FSI) is responsible for reviewing, inputting and verifying tax adjustments or rebates onto the City’s tax system (VTAX); calculating any applicable penalty reversals or interest payments and preparing/issuing letters outlining the tax adjustments or rebates and any corresponding refund forms. Further responsibilities include issuing revised tax bills as required; handling client enquiries and filing and storing tax adjustment and vacancy rebate files.
The Finance Specialist II (FSII) is responsible for reviewing and verifying tax, penalty and interest adjustments and signing refund forms within designated limits; reviewing and calculating vacancy rebates and any associated recalculations or recoveries; handling any disputes unresolved by the FSI and producing statistical reports for the purpose of managerial review as required.
The Assessment Control Coordinator is responsible for reviewing and approving (sign off on) vacancy rebate calculations provided by the FSII, further tax adjustments (eg. Tax apportionments) and associated penalty and/or interest adjustments, approving balance adjustments (ADJ journals);signing refund forms within designated limits; handling any disputes unresolved by the FSII; ensuring adherence to legislation and producing and/or reviewing statistical reports.
The Tax Adjustments / Support Coordinator is responsible for reviewing and approving tax, penalty and interest adjustments and signing refund forms within designated limits; handling any disputes unresolved by the FSII; ensuring adherence to legislation and producing and/or reviewing statistical reports.
The Program Manager, Assessment is responsible for reviewing and approving (sign off on) calculations in relation to vacancy rebates, along with other tax, penalty and interest adjustments as provided by either the Tax Adjustment/Support or Assessment Control Coordinator; signing refund forms amounting to more than the designated level of the Coordinator (or lower amounts as required); handling any disputes unresolved by the Coordinator; ensuring adherence to legislation and further reviewing statistical reports. |
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Monitoring/Contraventions
The Revenue Branch will monitor the application of this policy. Failure to comply with this policy may result in disciplinarian action against an employee, up to and including dismissal.
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References
This policy is linked with the following procedures: · Preparing Legislated Tax Rebates and Exemptions · Handling Vacancy Rebate Applications · Handling Interest Payment and Penalty Reversal Calculations · Adhering to the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) in the Handling of Information Requests
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Legislative & Administrative Authorities
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Definitions
For a list of all definitions, refer to the Glossary.
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Keyword Search
Assessment Review Board (ARB) Capping/Clawback Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) Request for Reconsideration (RfR)
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Enquiries
For more information on this policy, contact the Program Manager, Assessment at 613-580-2424, ext. 13716.
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Revision History
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