Canada
Canada: Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment disputes charge after being named Toronto's largest property tax debtors
Toronto/IBNS: Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), with an unpaid bill of roughly $1.18 million dating back to the 2019 tax year, has reportedly been charged as one of Toronto's largest property tax debtors.
This fact became obvious at April's meeting of the city's general government committee, when the annual list of largest property tax debtors with tax arrears greater than $500,000 was made public.
With disagreement over BMO Field at the city-owned Exhibition Place, MLSE is disputing that charge saying that it's in discussions with the city to resolve the issue.
Organizations that rent at Exhibition place are reported to traditionally pay property taxes to the city as a portion of their lease payments.
Both MLSE's Toronto FC and the Toronto Argonauts play out of the stadium.
But MLSE had reportedly said in a statement that it operates at BMO Field under a "management agreement" with the city, and the teams pay the city a "user fee" — not rent.
As a result, the company reportedly argued that they shouldn't be tagged with a property tax fee as traditional tenants at Exhibition Place like Medieval Times or the Liberty Grand.
"The ultimate responsibility for the payment of realty taxes rests with the owner," the MLSE statement reads. "And MLSE is neither the owner of the property nor a tenant."
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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