Toronto vacant home tax: city staff propose redesign [Video]

Toronto city staff is proposing to completely change the vacant home tax program and cancel the bills for the thousands of undeclared properties following the “flawed” and unfairly “punitive” rollout.

In a report for action, published April 12, to be considered for next week’s council meeting, chief financial officer Stephen Conforti noted the declaration for the 2023 tax year experienced challenges, particularly with how the messaging was handled in informing homeowners of the requirement to declare property status annually as well as the challenges associated with the vacant home tax (VHT) program “specifically the timing, billing and declaration requirements and the reliance on a Notice of Complaint process to address properties deemed vacant following the declaration period.”

That’s why several city divisions are undertaking a comprehensive review“to inform a complete redesign of the program.” Staff said it will explore all options to improve the filing process with a focus on the use of existing data to ease the declaration process, revamping …