By now, most property owners across the province have received a Property Assessment Notice from the Ontario Property Assessment Corporation (OPAC). It is not a tax bill but is the major factor in determining how much property tax will be paid to the local municipality.

This assessed value will be multiplied against your municipal tax rate and separately multiplied against your local education tax rate. The result of these two calculations will determine your municipal property tax payable and your education property tax payable. These two amounts added together then determine your total property taxes.

The bottom line is the higher your assessment, the higher your total property tax payable. But if you ask the right questions, you can get your assessment lowered and thus lower your taxes.

To start, if the assessed value of your property is more than you could sell your home (or office building, farm or commercial facility) for today, call the Assessment Corporation. The valuation of your property is supposed reflect its "market value" as of June 30, 1999. Unless you're living next to a nuclear dump or all industry in your area has disappeared, the true value of your property today given the hot economy is probably more than its assessed value.

Also if you believe your assessed value is too high, you may want to ask to see the research data on which your property was assessed. OPAC uses a variety of tools including historical selling prices as well as model properties in various neighbourhoods on which to base assessments.

If the model property in question or if all your neighbours have installed new fences, Bob Vila Home Again massive decks and inground pools, their improvements may be artificially driving up the assessed value of your property even though you have not made substantive improvements to your own property.

Other factors such as average lot size or location of the model property may also bias your assessment in an upward direction.

So what do you do if you feel your assessment is wrong You have until March 31, 2001 to appeal. You can ask OPAC for Request for Reconsideration. If this process does not yield the result you want (read: a lower assessment), you then have the option of filing a complaint with the Assessment Tribunal Board.

Both you and OPAC will be asked to appear before and present evidence before a hearing should you chose this route. And the decision of the Tribunal is binding … so you could win with a lower assessment, or you could still be stuck with your current assessment.

On your assessment notice, you will find a local address where you can write or drop-in should you wish to raises issues about an unfair assessment. Or you can call OPAC at 1-866-296 (OPAC) or visit their website at www.opac.on.ca.

Remember, the market value assessment system used by our Province is one of the most antiquated and bureaucrat friendly in existence, so your assessment could be wrong. Make sure that all information, right down to the punctuation of your address, is correct and if you think you're being gouged, fight back, it's your right.

In the meantime, the CTF is busy at work preparing a briefing document for all Ontario MPPs that will offer up some alternatives to the current property tax system that will be forwarded to our legislators next spring.