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Article: Property Tax Reform in Ontario: What Have We Learned?
- Article from:
- Canadian Tax Journal
- Article date:
- January 1, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 Canadian Tax Journal. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The introduction of market value assessment in Ontario in 1998,
accompanied by the reform of property tax policy, has had a major
impact on municipalities across the province. This paper describes
and evaluates the recent reform of property taxes in Ontario. It
argues that the goal of ensuring stability of property taxes has been
achieved at the expense of equity and simplicity. The reform may have
reduced inequities within the residential property class, but it has
maintained inequities within the non-residential property classes.
More generally, the lesson from the Ontario experience is that, no
matter how desirable the long-run outcome of a policy change, the
transitional effects may be ...