Property Tax Bill Designs

The Corporate Services Committee recommends the adoption of the reports (November 3, 1998) and (November 6, 1998) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, subject to the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer deleting the following Sections, and any references pertaining thereto, from the 1998 Residential Supplementary Property Tax Bill, the 1999 Residential Interim Tax Bill, and the 1999 Residential Final Property Tax Bill:

"C - Provincial Education Tax Rebate; and

"F - Capping adjustment".

The Corporate Services Committee submits the following report (November 3, 1998) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer:

Purpose:

The purpose of this report is to present designs for the 1998 Supplementary and the 1999 Interim tax bill, and to provide an update with respect to design of the 1999 Final tax bill.

Source of Funds/Financial Implications:

Funding for the design and printing of the tax bills is contained within the Finance Operating Budget.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the design of the tax bill for 1998 Supplementary Taxes be approved;

(2)the design of the tax bill for 1999 Interim Taxes be approved; and

(3)the preliminary design of the tax bill for 1999 Final Taxes be received.

Discussion:

The 1998 tax bill issued in August was deficient in several key aspects including:

(1)no clear display of 1998 taxes;

(2)no breakout of the "non-phaseable" Provincial tax shift component of the total tax rate;

(3)no breakout of the phase-in amount for years after 1998;

(4)no clear comparison of 1997 taxes to 1998 taxes; and

(5)no clear calculation of the total assessment change.

The goal for future tax bills is a clear, easy-to-understand format, which provides taxpayers with the information they need to calculate and understand their property taxes. An external firm has been recruited through a Request for Proposal process, to work with staff on designing tax bill formats for 1998 supplementary taxes, 1999 Interim taxes, and 1999 Final taxes. The estimated cost for the designs is $3,800.00 plus taxes. Funding for the design and printing of tax bills is part of the Department's operating budget.

The City calculates and mails an interim tax bill and a final tax bill for each assessed property each year. In addition, supplementary tax bills are produced for properties which have had in-year assessment additions (i.e.,1998) and omitted tax bills are produced for properties which have had assessment additions in either or both of the preceding two years (i.e., 1997 and 1996). The Ministry of Finance will be providing the City with the first supplementary/omitted assessment roll of 1998 later this month.

Enclosed are black and white copies of the design for the 1998 Supplementary and 1999 Interim Tax Bills. Two samples for each are enclosed - one sample is for a straight residential property; the second is for a residential/commercial storefront.

Sample A1998 Supplementary Tax Bill - Residential Property

SampleB1998 Supplementary Tax Bill - Residential/Commercial Property

SampleC1999 Interim Tax Bill - Residential Property

SampleD1999 Interim Tax Bill - Residential/Commercial Property

Coloured mock-up of these designs, properly folded and edited, will be distributed at the November9, 1998, meeting of the Corporate Services Committee. The designs have been through an initial focus group test, and will be focus tested again the week of November 2, 1998 with a cross section of taxpayers. Staff will document comments from this session for distribution at the Corporate Services Committee on November 9, 1998.

Also enclosed is the preliminary design for the 1999 Final Tax Bill. Again, two samples are enclosed:

SampleE1999 Final Tax Bill - Residential Property

SampleF1999 Final Tax Bill - Residential/Commercial Property

A coloured mock-up of this preliminary design, properly folded, will be distributed at the November9, meeting. The message on the Final tax bill is just a literary filler and cannot be finalized until later in 1999. Additional focus group testing will be conducted throughout the month of November. A further report finalizing the recommended design of the 1999 Final Tax bill will be submitted to Corporate Services Committee at a future meeting.

The billing for omitted taxes is based on pre-CVA assessments and legislation. An existing Omit Tax Bill design will be used for the billing of 1996 and 1997 omits.

Conclusion:

The designs for the 1998 supplementary and 1999 interim tax bills have been through an initial focus group test, and will be focus tested again the week of November 2, 1998 with a cross section of taxpayers. Staff will document comments from this session for distribution at the Corporate Services Committee on November 9, 1998. Coloured mock-ups of the designs, properly folded and edited, will be distributed at the November 9, meeting. There is urgency in finalizing the designs for the supplementary billing and the interim billing because these bills are scheduled to be mailed in early December 1998 and early January 1999 respectively. It is therefore recommended that the design of the tax bill for 1998 Supplementary Taxes and 1999 Interim Taxes be approved.

Staff will continue to work on finalizing the design and content options for the 1999 final tax bill. The preliminary design has undergone an initial focus group test, and will continue to be tested on a cross section of taxpayers, Councillors and Councillors' staff throughout the month of November. A further report finalizing the recommended design of the 1999 Final Tax bill will be submitted to Corporate Services Committee at its next meeting. A coloured mock-up of the preliminary design of the 1999 final property tax bill will be distributed to members at the November 9, meeting.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Bob Ripley

Manager of Revenue Accounting, Billings, and Meter Services,

(416) 395-6730

Giuliana Carbone,

Director of Revenue Services

(416) 392-8065

The Corporate Services Committee submits the following report (November6, 1998) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer:

Purpose:

As promised in our report dated November 3, 1998, the purpose of this report is to present coloured designs for the 1998 Supplementary, the 1999 Interim tax bill, and a draft design for the 1999 Final tax bill.

Source of Funds/Financial Implications:

Funding for the design and printing of the tax bills is contained within the Finance operating budget.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1)the design of the tax bill for 1998 Supplementary Taxes be approved;

(2)the design of the tax bill for 1999 Interim Taxes be approved; and

(3)the preliminary design of the tax bill for 1999 Final Taxes be received.

Discussion:

Enclosed are the coloured mock-ups of the design for the 1998 Supplementary and 1999 Interim Tax Bills. Two samples for each are enclosed - one sample is for a straight residential property; the second is for a residential/commercial storefront. The Supplementary bill is light orange in colour. The Interim bill is green.

The designs underwent a second focus group test on Wednesday, November 3. Comments from the focus group have been incorporated in the enclosed mock-ups. The format and overall design of the bills was well received by the focus group. The group basically recommended wording changes to the various sections of the bills. They also recommended replacing the logo on the inside flap with the heading "Here are the Calculations for Your Property".

Also enclosed is a coloured mock-up of the preliminary design for the 1999 Final Tax Bill. Again, two samples are enclosed - one sample is for a straight residential property; the second is for a residential/commercial storefront. The Final tax bill is blue in colour. The preliminary design has undergone initial focus group testing, and will continue to be tested on a cross section of taxpayers, Councillors and Councillors' staff. A further report finalizing the recommended design of the 1999Final Tax bill will be submitted to Corporate Services Committee at a future meeting.

Please be aware that the tax rates showed on the sample bills for Interim and Final are fictitious.

Conclusion:

The designs for the 1998 supplementary and 1999 interim tax bills have been through two focus group tests with a cross section of taxpayers. There is urgency in finalizing the designs for the supplementary billing and the interim billing because these bills are scheduled to be mailed in early December 1998 and early January 1999 respectively. It is therefore recommended that the design of the tax bill for 1998 Supplementary Taxes and 1999 Interim Taxes be approved.

Staff will continue to work on finalizing the design and content options for the 1999 final tax bill. The preliminary design has undergone initial focus group testing, and will continue to be tested on a cross section of taxpayers, Councillors and Councillors' staff throughout the month of November. A further report finalizing the recommended design of the 1999 Final Tax bill will be submitted to Corporate Services Committee at a future meeting.

Contact Name and Telephone Number:

Bob Ripley

Manager of Revenue Accounting, Billings, and Meter Services

(416) 395-6730

Giuliana Carbone

Director of Revenue Services

(416) 392-8065

(A copy of the designs for the 1998 Supplementary and the 1999 Interim tax bill and the coloured mock-ups thereof was forwarded to all Members of Council with the November 9, 1998, agenda of the Corporate Services Committee and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk.)