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Coalition After Property Tax Reform (CAPTR)

Press Release from CAPTR

June 29, 2006

TORONTO — The Ontario-wide Coalition After Property Tax Reform, (CAPTR), today announced qualified support for the two year moratorium on "property tax assessments" announced by Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara.

"CAPTR supports the moratorium, but believes that the Finance Minister must use the next two years to create a fair property tax system in Ontario. He should start by listening to all groups, including CAPTR, who share that goal," says CAPTR spokesperson Bob Topp.

"We want a property tax system that is less volatile, easier to administer and relates in some way to ability to pay and to services received," adds Topp.

CAPTR has conducted extensive research on property tax regimes in North America. There are 20 U.S. states that have some form of assessment capping and there are many other jurisdictions which provide other forms of significant relief to residential property owners to offset the impact of shifting assessment values. It is clear that the current pure assessment-based system for distributing property taxes is unfair and does not comply with any of the fundamental principles by which a property tax regime is judged.

CAPTR had been seeking a five per cent cap on annual property assessment increases, with a base year of 2004.

CAPTR is a coalition of over 700 ratepayer groups which, with the recent addition of the United Senior Citizens of Ontario, now represents close to one million Ontario citizens.

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