HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN 11-20Cfy ot
DICKERING
Report to
Executive Committee
Report Number: FIN 11-20
Date: August 10, 2020
From: Stan Karwowski
Director, Finance & Treasurer
Subject: COVID-19 Impact on Taxation Services
- File: F-4200-001
Recommendation: It is recommended that Report FIN 11-20, from the Director, Finance &
Treasurer regarding COVID-19 Impact on Taxation Services be received for information.
Executive Summary: At the April 30th Council Meeting, Council adopted the motion for staff to
report back, prior to August 31, 2020, on the potential for the waiving of property tax penalties
depending on the financial situation at that time.
This year, Council waived the late payment penalty fee for the months of May and June that
translates into providing Pickering taxpayers additional time to pay the April installment. The
waiving of the late penalty fee (for 2 months) resulted in the April due date, in theory, being
pushed back to the end of June. Taxation staff used the same principle when developing the final
due dates of providing Pickering taxpayers additional time to pay their final installments. In
comparison to the other Durham Lakeshore municipalities, Pickering is providing approximately 96
additional days to pay the final property tax installments that exceeds the additional time Council
provided with the first deferral.
Taxation payment statistics indicate that there are approximately 513 additional ratepayers in
arrears when compared to June 2019.
Financial Implications: This year, Council waived the late penalty fee for the months of May
and June. Based on the previous year's data, it is estimated that the waiving of the May and June
late fee translated into a revenue loss of approximately $500,000.
Discussion:
Property Tax Base
The 2020 property tax base consists of 34,189 roll numbers and a breakdown by major
assessment classification is presented below.
FIN 11-20 August 10, 2020
Subject: COVID-19 Impact on Taxation Services Page 2
Pickering Property Type
286541 634
674
0E11
32,054
Residential Farm Commercial Industrial • Other
As shown above, the residential property tax class of 32,054 roll numbers is the largest realty tax
class for the City. The above statistic relates to the number of properties and not the assessment
value. From an assessment value perspective, the residential property tax class represents 84
percent of the total property tax pie. Within the residential property tax class, there are several
assessment classifications as shown below.
FIN 11-20 August 10, 2020
Subject: COVID-19 Impact on Taxation Services Page 3
Residential Property Count
11348
3,017
4,702
20,637
Land Detached Townhouse Condo ■ Semi -Detached
The largest assessment group is for the "single detached" home structure.
Paid vs. Overdue
There will always be property tax accounts in arrears whether in good economic times or not. The
first chart below shows the percentage of the current year's property taxes that were paid and
unpaid in the current year and compares those figures to previous years.
1
FIN 11-20 August 10, 2020
Subject: COVID-19 Impact on Taxation Services Page 4
100.00%
90.00%
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
I
Property Taxes Paid and Unpaid
94.58% 94.37%
5.42%
June 2018
5.63%
93.01%
6.99%
June 2019 June 2020
■ Paid ■ Overdue
It is interesting to note, that the "June Arrears" percentage increased from 2018 to 2019 even
though the economy was doing well with a low unemployment rate.
In 2020, roughly 7.0 percent of taxes are overdue compared to the same period last year. It is
likely that this 1.5 percent is attributable to financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. It was
expected that some households would be affected by the pandemic, but at this current time, it
appears that the COVID-19 has increased the outstanding property taxes by 1.5 percent or 513
ratepayers. However, it should be noted that key financial assistance programs such as the 6
month mortgage deferral and Canadian Emergency Response Benefit or CERB will expire by the
end of September that may result in additional taxpayers following behind in their payments.
Offsetting the loss of these economic supports is the fact that the economy is slowly regaining
strength from the COVID-19 lockdown period.
Providing Additional Time Final Residential Billing Cycle
For the 2020 final tax bill, Pickering deferred the 2 due dates by a total of 96 days compared to the
2019 due dates, which is more than our neighboring Durham municipalities who provided an
average of 30 days. In April of this year, the City provided an interest free period for the months of
FIN 11-20 August 10, 2020
Subject: COVID-19 Impact on Taxation Services Page 5
May and June that in -turn by default extended the April due date to the end of June. The
extension of the final residential installments from the traditional months of June and September to
the end of August and October, has paralleled the same principle of providing additional time with
added benefit of additional days.
Billing Type
The chart below, provides a breakdown of the various billing types.
50.0%
45.0%
40.0%
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
44.7%
33.4%
21.9%
Billing Type Over Time
45.0%
34.0%
20.9%
46.2%
34.0%
19.7%
47.2%
34.2%
18.6%
2017 2018 2019 2020
Regular Bill ■ Pre -Authorized Debit ■ With Mortgage
Currently, the most popular billing method is to receive a property tax bill through Canada Post (or
e -bill) and the property owner is required to pay on the due dates either directly to the City (drop
box or in person) or through various payment options.
Paying through the pre -authorized payment debit plans has seen steady growth over time. The
pre -authorized payment plan allocates the annual property tax payment over 12 months and
provides the taxpayer with the most "time" to pay their annual bill. Paying your property taxes
through a mortgage is the third popular option and has been decreasing in popularity in recent
years. The decrease in using the mortgage payment tool is probably due to the fact that the
FIN 11-20 August 10, 2020
Subject: COVID-19 Impact on Taxation Services Page 6
homeowner has paid off their mortgage. However, with the introduction of Seaton and other
developments within Pickering, the future long-term trend may indicate an increase in residential
property taxes being paid via the mortgage.
E -Billing
There has been a gradual increase in property owners signing up for e -billing. Currently there are
486 customers receiving their bills by email. Every year each account that is enrolled in e -billing
saves the City roughly $2.50 in paper, printing, and postage. The e -billing numbers are expected
to increase gradually over time.
Attachments: None
Prepared By: Approved/Endorsed By:
M,a Jones Stan Karwowski
Supervisor, Taxation Director, Finance & Treasurer
Recommended for the consideration
of Pickering City Council
Marisa Carpino, M.A.
Interim Chief Administrative Officer