Tax delinquents begin to pay up

ODILE NELSON

City council’s threat to auction off the properties of Iqaluit’s worst tax delinquents propelled eight of them into city hall this week with either money in hand or promises to pay off their outstanding debts.

Iqaluit council slated 13 residential and four commercial properties for auction Sept. 15 by publishing their house numbers in an official auction notice in the Nunavut Gazette Aug. 1. Together the owners of the properties owed the city $600,000 in tax arrears.

In less than one week, the proprietors of four commercial buildings settled their accounts in full, immediately injecting $104,000 into Iqaluit’s municipal coffers, said John Hussey, the city’s director of finance.

Two residential owners also paid in full, while another two put down lump payments with the promise to pay off the balance and two more began negotiating payment plans with the city. The residential payments totaled about $50,000.

Hussey hopes the rest of the property owners will follow suit so everyone can avoid the controversial auction.

“It’s good to see that people are being responsible and responding [to the threat], opening the door and starting talks and negotiations,” he said.

Hussey would not identify which property owners from the Gazette auction notice had settled their tabs. The identity of the city’s 17 worst tax-delinquents will also not be published by the city until they been given yet another chance to settle their accounts, he said.

The auction notice listed house numbers with their minimal sale prices but did not mention the names of the property owners.

However, a second list of all Iqaluit residents who owe the city more than $500 was also published last Friday and it not only mentions names but also how much each taxpayer owes.

But because this tax arrears list does not state the house numbers and some owners are listed several times because they owe money on more than one property, it is difficult to identify with exact certainty which Iqaluit property owners are heading for auction.

Still, according to the 2003 tax arrears list, Coman Arctic Ltd. owes on five properties and three of these are the highest amounts. It owes $39,368.81 on one property, $26,354.03 on another and $17,318.26 on the third.

Iqaluit Arctic Ltd. owes $37,417.95 on a single building, Qudliq Investments, which owns the Arctic Survival Store, $23,464.36 and Arctic Express $11,603 on two buildings.

Hussey said it’s safe to infer by the small amount collected from residential property owners that the city’s worst offenders have not paid up yet.

“That’s a fair assumption to make. But I’m not saying they haven’t come in and started making payments,” he said.

At the very top of last week’s tax arrears list is the familiar name of Jonah Kelly – who leads Iqaluit’s tax deadbeats for the second year running and was listed as early as 1999.

This year, Kelly, a former CBC broadcaster, owes the city $161,940.46 in back taxes, close to $30,000 more than last year because of interest.

Kelly could not be reached for comment this week.

Kelly’s house, number 1659, is listed in the Nunavut Gazette as one of the property’s slated for auction Sept. 15.

According to the notice, the home could be bought for as little as $19,700, its assessed minimum sale value. Once sold, Hussey expects the city could not collect any balance of tax arrears owed.

That means if Kelly’s home goes at auction for its assessed minimum value, the city will recoup only one-eighth of the money Kelly owes.

This is yet another reason why the city hopes to avoid the auction, Hussey said.

Hussey also said the city is aware that it may potentially be cheaper for Kelly to buy his own house at auction than pay his taxes. But though Hussey had not received legal advice as of Nunatsiaq News press time, he expects there will be rules in place at the auction to prevent this.

This year’s tax arrears list contains 73 properties owing a total of $905,503.64. More than 75 per cent of this year’s names are holdovers from last year’s list, including Coman Arctic, Kelly, Jetaloo Kakee, Claude Caza, Sandy Tuft and Akeeshoo and Alicee Joamie. In 2002, there were 118 names and businesses owing $1.3 million in back taxes.

In 1999, there were only 45 names on a list that totaled $500,194.80 in tax arrears.

The 2003 list is a diverse one containing both Inuit and Qallunaat, senior citizens, estates of deceased individuals and even the Nunavut Housing Corp., the territorial government’s public housing authority.

The president of the housing corp. however said the NHC has settled the account and was only on the list because of bureaucratic delay.

Despite concerns from some MLAs and Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the auction will take place as scheduled on Sept. 15 at 9 a.m. in city council chambers.

Hussey stressed owners will have a month after the auction to settle with the city and reclaim their homes.