The Soldiers' Taxation Relief Act

The Soldiers' Taxation Relief Act, C.C.S.M. c. S180 bilingual version (HTML) Table of Contents Section 1 Definitions 2 Property tax relief 3 Limit of relief 4 Applications for relief 5 Procedure where property lies in different municipalities 6 Limit of relief 7 Time of application for relief 8 Minister of Finance to repay municipality 9 Late application 10 Province to provide moneys in first instance HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, enacts as follows: Definitions 1 In this Act, "minister" means the minister appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to administer this Act; (« ministre ») "municipality" includes local government district; (« municipalité ») "property" has the same meaning as in The Municipal Assessment Act ; (« bien ») "soldier" means (a) any person who is, or has been at any time since August 1, 1914, a resident of Manitoba, and either enlisted and was mobilized as a volunteer in the forces raised by the Government of Canada in aid of His late Majesty King George V in the war between His late Majesty and certain European powers (commonly called "The First Great War" or "World War I"), or left Canada to join the navy or army or aviation or auxiliary services of His late Majesty or of any of the allies of His late Majesty in that war as a volunteer or reservist, and so joined or enlisted in any branch of the Imperial navy or army or aviation or auxiliary services recruiting in Canada, or was drafted into the Canadian army under The Military Service Act, 1917 , of the Parliament of Canada, being 7 and 8 George V, chapter 19, and was accepted for active service, or who served in that war as a naval volunteer in the Canadian navy, and includes mechanics who went overseas to work in munition plants in Great Britain or France, and nurses who served in any capacity in that war, or (b) any person who is or has been, at any time on or after September 1, 1939, a resident of Manitoba, and who, at any time during the period from September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945, both days inclusive, served in the naval, military, or air, forces of the Crown, or of any member of the United Nations whose forces were, at any time during the period mentioned, engaged in active hostilities against the enemy in the Second Great War, or who, being or having been a resident as aforesaid, served in any capacity as a nurse in that war, or (c) any person who is or was a member of the Canadian Forces as defined in the National Defence Act (Canada) and who was enrolled for the purpose of serving in the special force constituted to participate in military operations undertaken by the United Nations to restore peace in the Republic of Korea; (« soldat ») "taxes" means any and all levies, taxes, charges, rates, or assessments levied, charged, or assessed, by any municipality or by the minister, or under any Act of the Legislature, and includes penalties and costs. (« taxes ») S.M. 1993, c. 48, s. 99 ; S.M. 1996, c. 58, s. 474 ; S.M. 2000, c. 35, s. 79 . Basis of exemption 2(1) Subject to subsection (2), the council of every municipality shall, on being satisfied of the good faith and merit of any application or claim therefor or upon the certificate of a judge of the Court of King's Bench as hereinafter provided, by resolution exempt or partially exempt from taxes up to but not exceeding the sum of $50. for each year or portion of a year, the property of (a) the pensioned surviving spouse of any soldier; (b) the pensioned parent of any deceased soldier or of a totally disabled soldier confined in any military hospital or any hospital for the treatment of mental diseases, or any sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis; (c) any soldier in receipt of a military pension by reason of being disabled to the extent of at least 75% of total disability; (d) a totally disabled soldier confined in any hospital or in any sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis, or in any hospital for the treatment of mental diseases, while so confined therein for not less than a minimum period of three months in any one year; but this exemption does not apply to the property of any such persons who have income from sources other than the pension. Verification of application 2(2) Every application for relief and exemption under this Act shall be accompanied by the statutory declaration of the applicant showing that they are a person to whom clause (1)⁠(a), (b), (c) or (d), applies and that they are entitled to the benefits of this Act. Exemptions from income 2(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), the income of an applicant does not include a pension received by the applicant under the Old Age Security Act (Canada). Continuation of exemption 2(4) Commencing with and including the year of the application, the relief and exemption provided by this Act shall thereafter inure to the benefit of the respective persons hereinbefore referred to until the happening of the event hereinafter mentioned, that is to say, (a) the person or persons mentioned in clauses (1)⁠(a) and (b) until the year in which the soldier's surviving spouse or parent dies, inclusive of that year; (b) the person or persons mentioned in clause (1)⁠(c) until the year of termination of the pension, inclusive of that year. Where relief applies 2(5) The relief provided by this Act applies to property which is (a) the home of the soldier or the soldier's surviving spouse or parent; or (b) owned by a soldier at the time of the soldier's death, so long as the property remains the home of the soldier's surviving spouse or parent; or (c) acquired by the surviving spouse or parent of a soldier after the soldier's death, so long as that property remains the home of the surviving spouse or parent. Where spouse owns property 2(6) Where the spouse of a soldier owns the property which is the soldier's home, the relief available under this Act is the same as would be available if the soldier were the owner of the property. Limit of relief 3 No municipality is compelled to expend for the purposes of this Act in any one year, and in connection with any one parcel of property, in satisfaction of any claim or claims of any one or more of the persons referred to in subsection 2(1), any larger amount than $50. Applications for relief 4(1) Application or claim for relief under this Act may be made by any person entitled thereto to the clerk or secretary-treasurer of the municipality in which the property in respect of which relief is sought is situated, and shall be in the form prescribed by the minister, or to the like effect, varied, however, as may be necessary to meet the circumstances of each application or claim. Reference to judge 4(2) Where the council of any municipality is in doubt regarding the good faith and merit of any such application or claim, the matter shall be referred by the council to a judge of the Court of King's Bench. Notice 4(3) At least 10 days' notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be served upon all persons interested. Appeal 4(4) The applicant is entitled to appeal to a judge of the Court of King's Bench from the decision of the council at any time within 30 days from the date of the decision being notified to the applicant. Finality of judgment 4(5) The finding or judgment of the judge of the Court of King's Bench under subsection (2) or (4) is final and conclusive; and when communicated to the council by the judge's certificate is sufficient authority for the council to exercise the powers conferred and carry out the duties imposed by this Act. S.M. 1993, c. 48, s. 99 ; S.M. 2000, c. 35, s. 79 . Procedure where property lies in different municipalities 5(1) Where the applicant owns property in different municipalities and in one of the municipalities the taxes on their property in respect of which relief is sought are greater than the amount of relief that may be granted under this Act, the applicant shall make their application to that municipality only; otherwise the applicant shall make separate applications to two or more of the municipalities in which their property is situated and shall state in each application that they have also made application in other municipalities, naming them, and the property and the amount of taxes in each in respect of which relief is sought; whereupon the clerk of each municipality shall forward the application received by the clerk to the minister, who shall apportion, or cause to be apportioned, the relief to be granted among the various municipalities named in the application, and advise the several clerks thereof. Verification of allegations 5(2) The allegations in every application under this section shall be verified by the affidavit of the applicant duly sworn before a person authorized to take oaths for use in the courts of Manitoba. S.M. 1993, c. 48, s. 99 ; S.M. 2000, c. 35, s. 79 . Limit of relief 6 The total relief granted in respect of any soldier from the municipalities severally or jointly shall not be greater than that set out in sections 2 and 3. Time of application for relief 7 Applications for relief under this Act in respect of taxes levied in any year are not valid unless received by the municipality before December 31 in the year in which the taxes are payable; and the secretary-treasurer of the municipality shall make proper entries thereof in each case in a book kept for the purpose, and shall, on or before March 31 in each year mail by registered letter to the minister, on a form approved by the minister, a complete statement of all moneys paid out or cancelled, by the municipality during the last preceding year. S.M. 1993, c. 48, s. 99 ; S.M. 2000, c. 35, s. 79 . Minister of Finance to repay municipality 8 In each year, upon receipt of the statements required by section 7, the minister, on being satisfied of the correctness of the statements, shall send a certified copy of each to the Minister of Finance, who shall pay to the municipality the money so shown to have been approved to be paid out or cancelled, by the municipality in the year last preceding; and the municipality shall thereupon pay out or cancel, the amounts in question. S.M. 1993, c. 48, s. 99 ; S.M. 2000, c. 35, s. 79 . Late application 9(1) Where an applicant files an application for relief and exemption under this Act after the date prescribed in section 7, the applicant shall attach thereto a separate statutory declaration setting out the circumstances causing the delay; and the secretary-treasurer of the municipality shall, as soon as possible, forward to the minister the application together with the statutory declaration and a statement of the moneys approved to be paid out or cancelled, by the municipality in respect of the applicant for the year or portion of a year in respect of which the application is made. Late filing of statement 9(2) Where the secretary-treasurer of a municipality mails a statement required under section 7 after the date prescribed in that section, the secretary-treasurer shall attach thereto a separate statutory declaration setting out the circumstances causing the delay in mailing the statement. Payment to municipality 9(3) If the minister (a) after considering the statutory declaration and any other information available to the minister is satisfied that, notwithstanding the delay in filing the application or mailing the statement, the applicant should be granted relief and exemption under this Act, or the municipality should be paid the money shown to have been approved to be paid out or cancelled, as the case may be; and (b) is satisfied as to the correctness of the statement; the minister may send a certified copy of the statement to the Minister of Finance who shall pay to the municipality the money shown by the statement to have been approved to be paid out or cancelled, in respect of the applicant; and the municipality shall thereupon pay out, mark off, or cancel, the amounts in question. S.M. 1993, c. 48, s. 99 ; S.M. 2000, c. 35, s. 79 . Province to provide moneys in first instance 10 All outlays made and expenses incurred by the government in carrying out this Act, whether for administration, or providing moneys to be advanced to municipalities, or for supplementing the revenues of the government, or for the issuing and retiring of debentures and interest thereon, shall be borne by the government in the first instance.