What do China, Metrolinx and Woodbine Mall have in common? They all owe Toronto over $500K, the city says

The City of Toronto is owed $39 million from its largest tax debtors according to a new report, released at a time when mayoral candidates are debating the city's challenging fiscal outlook.

The list of debtors is restricted to corporations and individuals that owe in excess of $500,000. And it includes some recognizable names including Woodbine Mall, the People's Republic of China and Metrolinx.

Councillors on the city's general government committee were expected to receive and debate the report from city staff at a meeting Tuesday.

Coun. James Pasternak, who chairs the committee, said given the city's fiscal pressures — which include a budget gap of over a billion dollars — it needs and expects everyone to pay their taxes.

"The city is cash-starved, we cannot afford to forgive or turn a blind eye to these millions of dollars in taxes," he said. "We absolutely need them for city operations for programs or for services."

City sends bailiff to collect at Woodbine Mall

The list includes 23 properties owned by corporations that owe over $37 million. Three individuals, who are not publicly named, account for the remaining balance. 

The city stresses in the report that as much as 97 per cent of city residents and businesses pay their taxes within the year they're levied. The report also outlines the efforts city staff are making to collect the funds in arrears and the details of the cases, some of which date back decades.

Cities have a number of tools at their disposal to collect tax arrears, including hiring bailiffs to enforce orders and to run tax sales of the property. To initiate a tax sale, the city must issue a notice giving the owner a year to pay the arrears in full or they forfeit the property.

While the city is owed millions, Casey Brendon, the director of revenue services, said because tax liens remain on properties even when they're sold, the city expects it will recover the money.

"It's just a question of at what point will we get paid," he said. "But it is not likely that this money is at risk of write-off or anything like that. We do expect to collect it."

Woodbine Mall Holdings Inc., which owns the Etobicoke mall, owes nearly $8.7 million in taxes, penalties and interest to the city dating back to 2017.

The city said it's tried a variety of means to collect and has now turned to a bailiff who is collecting payment directly from the mall's tenants. 

"Anything we collect from the tenants is used to offset the owners' taxes," Brendon said.

Woodbine Mall did not respond to a request for comment.

The city says it has been able to collect over $900,000 in the past year related to the account. 

Chinese consulate says international law makes it exempt

Also on the list is the People's Republic of China, which owes Toronto just over $723,000 for taxes, utility charges and penalties on a property at 50 Gervais Street, according to the report.

The city says the Chinese government recently purchased the property, but that it sat vacant from 2021 to 2022. As a result, the city says, the property is not exempt from taxes and fees usually not charged to consulates.

Global Affairs Canada has been enlisted to help collect the balance.

But Pasternak said attempts to collect the money have been difficult.

"No matter who you are, whether you're a foreign government or a multinational corporation or just an individual with property, you are still obligated to pay," he said. 

A spokesperson from the Chinese consulate in Toronto said in a statement that under international law, the Chinese government doesn't owe the city taxes on the property.

"In conformity with Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and Vienna Convention on consular relations, diplomatic and consular premises shall be exempt from all national, regional or municipal dues and taxes," the statement said.

Global Affairs Canada told CBC Toronto it could not comment on specific cases.

"Global Affairs Canada expects all foreign diplomatic missions and consular posts to be in good standing with municipal authorities," Jason Kung, a spokesperson for the federal department, said in a statement.

Metrolinx says 'clerical error' to blame

Provincial agency Metrolinx also makes the list for a property it purchased at 265 Front Street East. It owes approximately $511,000, the report says.

Metrolinx says it has owned the property since 2021, but that a clerical error at the Land Registry Office showed the space was owned by the Ontario Heritage Trust. The delay in updating the ownership is what led to the outstanding tax amounts, the agency says.

"The City has provided us with a statement of overdue balances, and the payment is submitted and being processed in the system from the Ontario Line project," Metrolinx said in a statement.

Pasternak said it's unusual for a Crown corporation to end up on the list, but Toronto feels it is owed taxes on the property.

The city provides billions of dollars in services each year and it relies on everyone to help by paying their fair share, he said.

"I realized when it comes to tax, it gets messy," he said. "But at the end of the day, we've staked out our position … and when it comes to these accounts we feel we're owed money."