Item - 2020.EX14.4

The Executive Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council amend the low-income senior and low-income disabled person property tax cancellation and deferral, water and solid waste relief and rebate programs by amending the definition of "eligible property" for each program to also allow for property ownership by an eligible person, or their spouse, widow or estate, as applicable, together with another person, or persons, who do not reside at the eligible property, and to amend Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 767, Taxation, Property Tax, Chapter 844, Waste Collection, Residential Properties and Chapter 849, Water and Sewage Services and Utility Bill accordingly.

2. City Council increase the Household Income Threshold from $41,228 to $45,000 for the Property Tax Increase Cancellation Program, as the increase which would otherwise have been determined by existing Council policy for 2020 and 2021.

The Executive Committee:

1. Requested the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer to report to City Council at the June 29 and 30, 2020 meeting of any other modifications required as a result of an increase in the Household Income Threshold.

As requested by City Council, this report reviews the feasibility and implications of amending the eligibility criteria for the City's property tax, water and solid waste relief and rebate programs, to ensure that low-income residents, who otherwise meet the eligibility criteria, are not disqualified in cases where a co-owner is registered on title to the property but does not reside at the property.

The report also provides a financial impact analysis and implications of increasing the current maximum household income thresholds that establish eligibility for the property tax increase cancellation and deferral programs, and the water rebate and solid waste relief programs.