Following a request for property tax penalty leniency, City of Powell River’s committee of the whole is suggesting property taxes must be paid on time in all but the most dire of circumstances.
Last month, Shehzad Somji, chief financial officer, said the request had been received from a taxpayer to write off a penalty payment of $436.11 incurred from late filing of taxes this year. In a report to council, Somji said the taxpayer did not make payment on time because of medical circumstances, causing the taxpayer to leave town on the tax due date.
“We are mandated to charge a 10 per cent penalty if they miss the July 2 due date, as per the Community Charter,” Somji said.
He added there were 400 to 500 taxpayers who missed the July 2 deadline this year.
“This is one request,” he said. “If you resolve this is something you want to support, it would have to go to the ministry.”
According to a letter from Coralee Oakes, BC minister of community, sport and cultural development, the penalty is not discretionary and must be applied regardless of circumstance. In the case of illness or emergency, a designate can pay the taxes on their behalf.
Somji said he did not believe the ministry would find this is a situation where it would approve a write-off.
“Under the bigger picture, I don’t want to set a precedent,” Somji said. “All of a sudden you’d have 500 more requests. The recommendation is to deny this request.”
Somji said that if taxpayers want to pay on the last day, they can submit a post-dated cheque prior to the deadline.
Councillor Jim Palm said it was interesting to note that the aggregate total of late fees was about $120,000.
“That’s amazing to me,” he said. “How many [taxpayers] do we have in the city because 500 is very significant?” He was advised that figure represented about 10 per cent of those on the tax roll.
“Coming out of this report, I hope we do a better job next year, giving a reminder there are penalties associated with late payment,” Palm said. “It’s good for our coffers but not too good for our citizens.”
Mayor Dave Formosa said he thinks putting out notice in advance is a good idea, but a lot of people are tardy because they can’t pay the taxes on time. “We need to remember that a good number of that is probably hardship.”
Councillor Maggie Hathaway said she was familiar with this particular case She was surprised that the city has no leeway regarding assessment of the penalty.
She recommended paying taxes by instalment and making monthly contributions, rather than one lump sum at the beginning of July.
Councillor Russell Brewer asked if the number of late payers in 2014 was comparable to the number in 2013. Somji said the dollar amount was about the same but he was not sure of the number comparison.
During question period at the end of the meeting, George Orchiston asked, “Does council see any correlation between the longstanding Catalyst industrial tax break and the high increase in residential taxes over the years?” Orchiston said it cannot be logically assumed that more than 500 property owners in Powell River forgot to pay their taxes on time. “Council’s not suggesting that, are they?”
Councillor Debbie Dee said in order for the questions to be answered, there would have to be comparative analysis with other communities, such as other communities where Catalyst Paper Corporation operates, plus cities such as Vancouver and like-sized communities such as Smithers and Nelson.
“It’s not just Catalyst tax breaks that have caused a global downturn in the economy,” Dee said.
