Whereas the Province of Ontario passed amendments to the Assessment Act in May of 2021 providing Ontario municipalities with the option to provide a property tax reduction for properties defined under an Optional Small Business Tax Subclass;
Whereas the Region of Peel convened a working group comprised of Region of Peel, City of Brampton, City of Mississauga and Town of Caledon staff that has engaged with various stakeholders in reviewing the optional small business subclass (the “Subclass”);
Whereas the Region of Peel must pass a by-law to adopt the Optional Small Business Tax Subclass for implementation in local municipalities;
Whereas on October 28, 2021 Region of Peel Council endorsed the staff recommendation not to adopt the Optional Small Business Subclass for 2022, at that time;
Whereas this policy decision can be revisited in future tax policy reviews;
Whereas implementation of the Optional Small Business Tax Subclass requires careful consideration, thorough consultation with the community and with local municipalities;
Now therefore be it resolved that the Town of Caledon request that a meeting be held with the Mayors of the Town of Caledon, City of Brampton, City of Mississauga, the Chief Financial Officer of the Region of Peel, and the Regional Chair of the Region of Peel to discuss revisiting this tax policy and options moving forward; and
Further that a copy of the motion be sent to the Honourable Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, the Honourable Maud Murray, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, the Honourable Prabmeet Sarkaria, President of the Treasury Board on Ontario and the Region of Peel.