Toronto, Ontario (January 9, 2014) – The Toronto Port Authority (“TPA”) announced today that it has accepted the revised offer approved by Toronto City Council in October 2013 regarding the amount of Payment-In-Lieu of Taxes (“PILT”) that Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (“BBTCA”) pays to the City of Toronto. Pursuant to ongoing discussions with the City, the agreement would see BBTCA pay a PILT of $0.94 cents per passenger.
This payment methodology is in keeping with the recommendations received from an independent federal Advisory Panel in 2009, and mirrors the rate paid by Pearson International Airport.
“The TPA has worked for years to resolve this matter. The agency is committed to pay its fair share to the City, and our acceptance of the City’s revised airport proposal speaks volumes,” said Toronto Port Authority President & CEO Geoff Wilson. “Several of the major airports in Ontario also pay PILTs on a per passenger basis, and TPA has long sought the same fair treatment for BBTCA passengers. This approach ensures a consistent and predictable stream of payments to the City. The TPA and the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport are proud to be valued contributors to our city,” Wilson said.
In addition, the TPA recently received the advice of an independent Dispute Advisory Panel that was called upon by the TPA in 2012 to consider and advise as to the value of the Outer Harbour Marina and the Port property at 80 Cherry Street, following an appeal to the Federal Court of Canada of an earlier 2009 DAP Panel by the City of Toronto under former Mayor David Miller. The TPA is currently reviewing the advice and analysis of the 2013 DAP panel, which appears to have confirmed several elements of the TPA’s position on certain of its non-airport properties. The TPA will provide further comment at a later date, but is hopeful that it will soon reach a resolution with the City on the Port property, bringing about a final resolution to all outstanding PILT matters between the parties.
The TPA has already paid the City of Toronto one hundred per cent of the amount of PILTs for all of its properties, including the BBTCA, as recommended by the 2009 Federal DAP panel for the 1999 - 2012 period. For 2012, for example, the TPA paid the City of Toronto a PILT of $2.137 million in 2013, as well as an additional $2.275 million in relation to 2013 property taxes on behalf of itself and its tenants. In addition, the TPA paid the federal government $2.368 million in Gross Revenue Charges for 2012.
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The Toronto Port Authority (TPA) owns and operates Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, the Port of Toronto (Terminals 51 and 52), and Toronto's Outer Harbour Marina. In addition to moving more than two million passengers through the airport in 2012, the Port Authority provides transportation, distribution, storage and container services to businesses at the Port, and owns and operates Toronto’s largest freshwater marina. The Toronto Port Authority was incorporated on June 8, 1999 as a government business enterprise under the Canada Marine Act as the successor to the Toronto Harbour Commissioners.
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