The Town of Collingwood is waiving interest and late fees for tax payments due in May and June 2021.
This is the latest of several votes of council to waive tax penalties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The measures are brought forward as suggestions from staff intended to support people in Collingwood who are impacted financially by COVID-19.
The town waved 2020 tax year penalties and interest from March to September 2020, and waived 2021 tax year penalties for March and April 2021. This only applies to the current year taxation. Taxes still due from prior years would be subject to penalties.
According to a report by the town's treasurer Monica Quinlan, waiving penalties in March and April 2021 meant foregoing about $36,000 for the town, which can be recouped through the province's Safe Restart Grant if necessary.
She calculated that by continuing to waive fees and interest charges for May and June, the town would potentially not collect $45,000 in revenue.
Annually, the town collects between $515,000 and $585,000 in interest and penalty revenue from tax bills. In 2019, the town collected $585,601, which was only slightly higher than the $558,342 collected in 2020, despite those fees being waived from March to September in 2020.
Because the penalties are now also being waived for May and June, residents on pre-authorized payment plans can request to be removed from the plan, but will not be automatically re-added. Opting back into a pre-authorized plan is done by resident request only.
Taxes for 2020 and 2021 are still due in the same amounts, but these measures mean the town is allowing residents to defer payments without financial penalty.
You can read Treasurer Quinlan's staff report online here.
