The Toronto Port Authority Accepts City of Toronto’s Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILTs) Proposal and Makes Payment in Full on all PILTs Related to Organization

Toronto (October 13, 2015) – The Toronto Port Authority today confirmed that it has accepted the City of Toronto’s proposal with regard to Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILTs) and has paid in full all PILTs associated with the organization and its properties. The settlement addresses all PILTs matters dating back to 1999. The Toronto Port Authority is a financially self-sustaining government business enterprise that does not receive funding or subsidies from any level of government. As such, the Toronto Port Authority pays its share of taxes and payments in lieu of taxes (PILTs) to the City of Toronto. Properties leased by the Toronto Port Authority to tenants are assessed and taxed in the same way as other, similar properties.  All other the Toronto Port Authority properties are subject to PILT payments. PILTs are amounts paid by federal government agencies to host municipalities. the Toronto Port Authority, which had previously been exempt from taxation on non-tenanted properties, became subject to PILTs in 1999 through legislative changes at the Federal level.

The Toronto Port Authority has worked in close cooperation with the City of Toronto on the valuation of its properties and has reached an agreement with respect to all properties including the the Toronto Port Authority head office, Outer Harbour Marina, the Marine Terminal and the Toronto Harbour Water Lots. All PILTs relating to these properties have now been paid in full to the City of Toronto.

This is in addition to an agreement reached in 2013 between the Toronto Port Authority and the City of Toronto, subject to implementing provincial legislation, with respect to the PILTs to be paid in connection with the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. This agreement was based on a formula of $0.94 per passenger, the same formula and cost-per-passenger amount used for Pearson International Airport.

In 2014, the Toronto Port Authority contributed $2.9 million in PILT payments to the City of Toronto and paid $2.7 million in property taxes. In addition, the Toronto Port Authority paid $2.4 million in Gross Revenue Charges to the Government of Canada. As a result, in that year the Toronto Port Authority generated amounts for governments in excess of $8 million that can be used to benefit taxpayers in its host municipality and across the country.
The recent settlement of PILT and property tax issues has brought to a close a long-standing discussion between representatives of the Toronto Port Authority and the City of Toronto. the Toronto Port Authority representatives are optimistic that the ground work has been laid for a continuing, constructive and productive relationship in connection with PILTs and taxes going forward.

About the Toronto Port Authority (https://www.torontoportauthority.com/)
For more than 100 years the Toronto Port Authority, (formerly the Toronto Port Authority), has worked with its partners at the federal, provincial and municipal levels to enhance the economic growth of the City of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. The Toronto Port Authority owns and operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which welcomes more than two million passengers each year; the Outer Harbour Marina, one of Canada’s largest freshwater marinas; and, Terminals 51 and 52, which provide transportation, distribution, storage and container services to businesses at the Port of Toronto. the Toronto Port Authority is committed to fostering strong, healthy and sustainable communities and has invested more than $6.7 million since 2009 in charitable initiatives and environmental programs that benefit communities along Toronto’s waterfront and beyond. the Toronto Port Authority operates in accordance with the Canada Marine Act and is guided by a nine-member board with representation from all three levels of government.

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