Rogers says assessment error cost it $2M in B.C. property taxes; judge rejects claim
Rogers Communications says a BC Assessment error forced it to pay $2.2 million more in property taxes on its fibre-optic cables than it should have, but a judge has dismissed its petition to fix the problem.
In a decision issued Thursday and posted online, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Neena Sharma declined to grant the telecommunications giant an order of "mandamus," a legal term for a ruling compelling a public body to perform its duty.
Rogers sought to compel BC Assessment to issue a supplementary roll for the 2021 tax year in order to correct errors that the company says led to its overpayment. It also alleged that BC Assessment had been made aware of the errors and refused to correct them, according to the court decision.
THE ERRORS
Sharma's decision traces the errors to a "data dump" Rogers provided to the assessor in 2019.
"BC Assessment does not – and lacks the capacity to – inspect any fibre-optic cables," Sharma wrote. "Instead, it relies on annual self-reporting by Rogers, who provides information about its fibre inventory, the lit/dark status of the cables, and any new cables compared to the previous year."
Before 2019, according to the judge, Rogers' self-reporting consisted of an update to the previous year's inventory indicating any new cables that had been added.
"What is not disputed is that, for its 2019 self-report (for the 2020 taxation year), Rogers provided a 'data dump' to BC Assessment, which included all existing fibre-optic cables regardless of year of installation," Sharma wrote. "That information did not exclude individual optical fibres within the cables owned by third parties through Irrevocable Rights of Use Agreements. Rogers submits that this reporting resulted in an overpayment of taxes that was carried forward into the 2021 taxation year."
Though the company claimed it overpaid its taxes for 2020 as well, it did not challenge that year's assessment in court.
According to Sharma's decision, Rogers provided information to BC Assessment late on multiple occasions.
In March 2021, the company inquired as to whether there was a process for amending previous years' rolls and was told that it was too late to change the 2020 roll, the decision reads.
Later that year, in June, representatives from Rogers and BC Assessment met to discuss the company's taxes. During that meeting, according to Sharma, the officials discussed the possibility of BC Assessment using its discretion to issue a supplementary roll for the 2021 tax year.
A letter sent to Rogers in July 2021 and quoted in the court decision explains BC Assessment's position:
"Errors or omissions in previous roll years are binding on all parties. Accordingly, the 2020 roll cannot be amended regardless of Rogers’s incorrect inventory declaration. Given Rogers’s opportunity to inquire with (BC Assessment) and/or seek an independent review from the (Property Assessment Review Panel), (BC Assessment) will not be issuing supplementary assessments to amend the 2021 roll. Notwithstanding, we are working with Rogers to ensure their 2022 roll inventory declaration is accurate."
THE DECISION
In her decision, Sharma declined to grant Rogers an order of mandamus in part because of these other avenues available to it, such as contacting the PARP.
The judge concluded that the BC Assessment Act gives BC Assessment the option of issuing a secondary roll to correct errors that led to over-assessment of a property's value, but it does not require such action.
"If the legislature intended that BC Assessment have a mandatory duty to ensure the accuracy of the roll no matter what, it could have said this explicitly," Sharma wrote. "Instead, what the legislature did is to make clear that under-assessments are subject to a mandatory supplemental roll."
In the case of over-assessments, while BC Assessment "may" issue a supplemental roll to correct errors, it is not obligated to do so. The appropriate course of action for taxpayers in such a situation is to appeal the assessment, which Rogers did not do, according to Sharma's decision.
Thus, the judge dismissed the company's petition.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.