Is Burlington’s Tax Bill Legal?

The most recent property tax bill, received by Burlington homeowners, businesses and landlords, has changed.

The city combined the police levy and the regional levy into one block titled “Region.” The bill is still blue to help with your mood when you look at it.

Civic Engagement

For a city that prides itself on engagement, there was no engagement on the tax bill changes. What do residents want to see on our tax bill? Burlington Hydro’s bill is a good example of an informative bill. Electricity is shown in one section, water in another, along with a grand total to pay, all combined with a billing history.

Burlington Hydro has a tree-saving option to have your bill emailed to you. Does our council understand that emailing bills is also a cost-saving measure? Other municipalities including Mississauga and Leamington have paperless billing options.

What’s missing?

Municipalities in Ontario are governed by the Ontario Municipal Act (OMA). The act is a set of laws, controlled by the province, that serve as a code of conduct for all municipalities in Ontario.

Here’s one of the gory details in the OMA:

“(2) Tax notices for properties classified in the residential property class, …  shall also include the information required under sections 10 to 14 with respect to tax changes, presented in the areas of Schedule 2 …”

I have a residential property, my bill “shall also include information required under sections 10 to 14”.

What is in sections 10 to 14?

The details are here https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/010075/v2

Our property tax bills need to include a Schedule 2 containing an “Explanation of Tax Changes”. Schedule 2 should show us last year’s amounts, this year’s amounts, and the differences, for the city, the region, and the Board of Education. The OMA stipulates the title must be “Schedule 2” and the property must be identified.

I don’t recall receiving a Schedule 2 with a Burlington tax bill, new style or old style.

What does Hamilton do?

The City of Hamilton website includes a sample schedule 2 showing the information required by the OMA.

The bill we just received is the “2025 Interim Tax Notice”. The amounts on this bill are roughly the same as the amounts on the June 2024 “Final” bill. We won’t see the city’s 7.51% increase, the region’s 6.2% increase, or education’s 0% increase (5.82% overall) until June of this year.

We now know the city can change the tax bill. Will Burlington’s 2025 final tax bill comply with the Ontario Municipal Act?

For more information on the tax bill click here: Why are property taxes in Burlington so complicated? | Burlington Residents’ Action Group

Here is another example of a property tax bill with a schedule 2 courtesy of Cavan Monaghan.

https://www.cavanmonaghan.net/en/live-here/understanding-your-property-tax-bill.aspx