Lilly’s husband Bart had passed away and had been incorrectly assessed as owing $1,302.90 in Speculation and Vacancy Tax. The family’s lawyer reached out to our office after Lilly tried to call the Speculation and Vacancy Tax information line and was unable to get a clear response. The lawyer also received conflicting information from the Ministry of Finance staff about whether Bart’s Speculation and Vacancy Tax declaration was received.

We called the Ministry of Finance and spoke to the Assistant Manager of Operations who agreed to have the matter reviewed and to contact Lilly’s lawyer. After several unsuccessful attempts to receive an update, we contacted the Ministry’s Director of Annual Property Tax requesting a response. The Director responded and assigned a Senior Analyst to the file.

Lilly and Bart’s accounts were reviewed, and their Speculation and Vacancy Tax account balance was amended to show a balance of zero as the declaration had in fact been received. We confirmed this with Lilly’s lawyer and concluded our early resolution investigation as Lilly’s concerns had been successfully resolved.