Burlington considering tax relief for businesses and residents

Published March 20, 2020 at 3:15 pm

Burlington considering tax relief for businesses and residents

The City of Burlington says its considering tax-relief for businesses and residents amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The City of Burlington says its considering tax-relief for businesses and residents amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

“At our next scheduled council meeting, Burlington City Council will be considering a temporary change to late payment charges to provide relief for the April 21st property tax installment to help residents and businesses experiencing financial hardship during the COVID-19 outbreak,” according to an official news release.

The temporary change being proposed would mean that for the months of April and May, businesses and residents would face:

  • No penalty or interest charges will be incurred related to the April 21st installment for all property owners; and
  • No non-sufficient fund (NSF) fee charged by the City for any returned tax payments.

The city did, however, encourage taxpayers on a pre-authorized payment plan to continue on these payment plans where possible.

“I continue to be impressed by how our community is coming together to support one another and follow the advice of healthcare experts by staying and working from home whenever possible and employing social distancing,” said Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward. “

“Waiving the April property tax payment interest penalty for late or missed payments is one way we can provide some financial relief.” 

The mayor also says she has reached out to the Province to consider relief and flexibility on timelines related to planning and development deadlines; including those related to statutory public meetings.

“The city has implemented necessary steps to limit spending in order to ensure essential/critical services have the much-needed resources available to them,” added Joan Ford, Director of Finance.

“As a reminder, there are many ways to make your property tax payments that do not require your physical presence at a certain location.”

Ontario 211 is a free helpline that connects you to community and social services in your area 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in over 150 languages. 211 is answered and updated by highly-trained specialists. You can visit 211.ca or call 211 from your phone with questions related to food, family services, employment, community programs, and crisis support.

There are also online support groups including The Good Neighbour Project – GTA and Burlington Covid Response, both of which are on Facebook.

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