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CITY OF ST. CATHARINES
A By-law to amend By-law No. 2022-145 entitled "A By-law to establish a Municipal
Accommodation Tax in the City of St. Catharines."
WHEREAS Council of the City of St. Catharines, at its meeting held on August 8, 2022,
passed a by-law to implement a municipal accommodation tax within the City of St.
Catharines, under the short title "Municipal Accommodation Tax By-law";
AND WHEREAS Council of the City of St. Catharines, at its meeting held on January
16, 2023, resolved to amend the Municipal Accommodation Tax By-law so as to
restructure the municipal accommodation tax rate throughout 2023, 2024, 2025 and
beyond.
NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF ST.
CATHARINES enacts as follows:
1.
That By-law No. 2022-145 be and the same is hereby amended by deleting the
contents of the by-law in its entirety and replacing same with APPENDIX 1 attached
hereto and forming a part of this amending by-law.
Read and passed this
--~o+._ day of ~~""'--c,_r------J
2023.
CLERK
CITY OF ST. CATHARINES
BY-LAW NO. 22-145
A By-law to establish a Municipal Accommodation Tax in the City of St. Catharines.
WHEREAS section 400.1 (1) of the Municipal Act, 2001, S.O 2001, c.25 (the "Act"),
provides that a local municipality may, by by-law, impose a direct tax in respect of the
purchase of transient accommodation within the municipality;
AND WHEREAS pursuant to section 400.1 of the Act and Ontario Regulation 435/17, the
Council of the Corporation of the City of St. Catharines desires to establish a municipal
transient accommodation tax rate to levy on the purchase of transient accommodation
within the City of Catharines;
AND WHEREAS pursuant to sections 401.1 (3) of the Act, Council may establish certain
enforcement measures as Council considers appropriate if an amount assessed for
outstanding tax, penalties or interest remains unpaid after it is due.
NOW THEREFORE THE COUNCIL OF THE CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF ST.
CATHARINES enacts as follows:
1.
This by-law may be referred to as the "Municipal Accommodation Tax By-law or
MAT By-law".
2.
In this By-law:
a.
"accommodation" means lodging, and the right to use lodging, that is
provided for consideration, whether or not the lodging is actually used;
b.
"by-law" means this by-law and any amendments made thereto;
c.
"City" means The Corporation of the City of St. Catharines;
d.
"Council" means the Council of The Corporation of the City of St.
Catharines;
e.
"eligible tourism entity" has the same meaning given to it in Ontario
Regulation 435/17;
f.
"establishment" means the physical location, a building or part of a building
that provides accommodation;
g.
"lodging" includes:
i. the use of a bedroom, a suite of rooms containing a bedroom, or the
use of a bed within a bedroom, domicile or other physical location;
ii. the use of one or more additional beds or cots in a bedroom or suite.
h.
"Municipal Accommodation Tax" or "MAT" means the tax imposed under
this by-law;
i.
"provider" means a person or an entity that sells, offers for sale, or otherwise
provides accommodation, and includes agents, hosts or any other who sell
offers for sale or otherwise provides accommodation;
j.
"purchaser" means a person who purchases accommodation;
k.
"purchase price" means the price for which accommodation is purchased,
including the price paid, and/or other consideration accepted by the provider
in return for the accommodation provided, including all fees and surcharges
for additional occupants and beds, but does not include the goods and
services tax imposed by the Government of Canada or by the Province of
Ontario;
I.
"Treasurer" means the City's Director of Financial Management Services,
or their designate.
3.
A purchaser shall, at the time of purchasing accommodation, pay the Municipal
Accommodation Tax in the amount in accordance with the table attached to this By-law
as APPENDIX 1 (the "Prescribed Tax Rate")of the purchase price of the accommodation
provided for any continuous period of 28 days or less provided in a hotel, motel, condo
hotel, club, portion of a multi-use complex used as a hotel, motor hotel, hostel, lodge, inn,
bed and breakfast, dwelling unit, domicile or any place in which accommodation is
provided. For greater certainty, a continuous period is not disrupted by the purchase of
different rooms, suites, beds or other lodging in the same establishment during the course
of the continuous period, and the purchaser of different rooms, suites, beds or other
lodging in the same establishment shall, without exception, pay the Municipal
Accommodation Tax in the amount of the Prescribed Tax Rate of the purchase price of
each different accommodations provided, whatever the case may be, for any continuous
period of 28 days or less provided in a hotel, motel, condo hotel, club, portion of a multi
use complex used as a hotel, motor hotel, hostel, lodge, inn, bed and breakfast, dwelling
unit, domicile or any place in which accommodation is provided
4.
The Municipal Accommodation Tax imposed under this by-law does not apply to:
a.
The Crown, every agency of the Crown in right of Ontario and every
authority board, commission, corporation, office or organization of persons
a majority of whose Directors, members or officers are appointed or chosen
by or under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council or a member
of the Executive Council;
b.
Every board as defined in subsection 1(1) of the Education Act, R.S.O.
1990, c.E.2;
c.
Every university or a college of applied arts and technology or post
secondary institution whether or not affiliated with a university, the
enrolments of which are counted for purposes of calculating operating grant
entitled from the Crown;
d.
Every hospital referred to in the list of hospitals and their grades and
classifications maintained by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Cre
under the Public Hospitals Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.40, and every community
health facility within the meaning of the Oversight of Health Facilities and
Devices Act, 2017, c.25, Sched. 9, that was formerly licensed under the
Private Hospitals Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.24;
e.
Every long-term care home as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Long-Term
Care Homes Act, 2007, S.O. 2007, c. 8 and hospices;
f.
Accommodations provided by the City or its agents for shelter purposes;
g.
Accommodations provided by treatment centres that received Provincial aid
under the Ministry of Community and Social Services Act, R.S.O. 1990,
c.M.20;
h.
Accommodations provided by a house of refuge, or lodging for the
reformation of offenders;
i.
Accommodations provided by a charitable, non-profit philanthropic
Corporation organized a shelter for the relief of the poor or for emergency
purposes;
j.
Accommodations supplied by employers to their employees in premises
operated by the employer; and
k.
Accommodations provided by hospitality rooms in an establishment that
may or may not contain a bed and is used for displaying merchandise,
holding meetings, or entertaining.
5.
A provider shall collect the MAT from the purchaser at the time the accommodation
is purchased.
6.
The amount of the MAT shall be identified as a separate item or charge on a bill,
receipt, invoice or similar document issued by the provider in respect of the
accommodation on which the tax is imposed and the item shall be identified as "Municipal
Accommodation Tax".
7.
A provider shall, on or before the last day of every month, remit to the City, or its
designate as the case may be, the amount of the MAT collected for the previous month
and submit monthly statements in the form required by the City detailing the number of
accommodations sold, the purchase price of each accommodation, the MAT amount
collected and any other information as required by the City for the purposes of
administering and enforcing this by-law.
8.
The Treasurer is hereby delegated the authority to enter into agreements, including
all necessary documents ancillary thereto, with another person or entity as agent for the
City, providing for the implementation and collection of the MAT, all in a form satisfactory
to the Director of Legal and Clerks Services.
9.
The Treasurer is hereby delegated the authority to enter into agreements, including
all necessary documents ancillary thereto, with an eligible tourism entity, that receives an
amount of the MAT respecting reasonable financial accountability matters in order to
ensure that amounts paid to the eligible tourism entity are used for the exclusive purpose
of promoting tourism, and the agreements may provide for other matters, all in a form
satisfactory to the City's Director of Legal and Clerks Services.
10.
The Treasurer shall be responsible for the administration of this by-law, including
but not limited to approvals, appeals, enforcement, collection, and for instructing the City's
Director of Legal and Clerks Services to take such legal action as may be considered
appropriate.
11.
That a percentage charge of 1.25% of the amount of the MAT due and unpaid be
imposed as a penalty for the non-payment of taxes on the first day of default, and for each
day thereafter. Such penalty charge shall be calculated based on the full occupancy of
the establishment, or the actual occupancy of the establishment for each day on which
the default occurred if said occupancy is proven to the satisfaction of the City.
12.
A fee shall be charged in respect of all payment remittances that are not honoured
by the financial institution upon which it is drawn in an amount as set out in the City of St.
Catharines Rates and Fees By-law applicable in that year.
13.
All MAT penalties and interest that are past due shall be deemed to be in arrears,
and may be added to the tax roll for any real property in the city of St. Catharines
registered in the name of the provider to be collected in like manner as property taxes
and shall constitute a lien upon the lands, but such lien shall not be a priority lien for the
purposes of subsections 1(2.1 ), (2.2) and (3) of the Act and such lien will not have a
higher priority than it would otherwise have in law in relation to other claims, liens or
encumbrances.
14.
The provider shall keep all books, accounts, invoices, financial statements,
records, electronic and such other documents sufficient to furnish the City or its agent
with the necessary particulars of sales of Accommodations, amount of MAT collected,
payable and remitted, for no less than seven years in a form and manner acceptable to
the City.
15.
The City or an agent of the City may at all reasonable times enter into any premises
or place where any business is carried on or any property is kept or where anything is
done in connection with any business or where any books or records are or should be
kept and inspect and audit all books, records, documents, transactions and accounts of
transient accommodation providers and require providers to produce copies of any
documents or records required for the purposes of administering and enforcing this by
law, as required.
16.
The City or its agent may require a provider to:
i.
Provide the City all reasonable assistance with its audit or inspection;
ii.
Answer all questions relating to the audit or inspection either orally
or, if the City requires, in writing, on oath or by statutory declaration;
or
iii.
Attend at the premises or place with the City representative or agent
for the purposes of giving reasonable assistance and answering
questions relating to the audit or inspection.
17.
The City or its agent may serve on a provider a written demand for information or
for the production on oath or otherwise of books, accounts, records, letters, invoices,
financial statements, electronic and such other documents as the City or its agent
considers necessary to determine compliance with this by-law. A provider in receipt of
such a demand shall comply with the demand within the time specified in the demand.
18.
The City may make a determination of an amount of tax required to be remitted,
together with any interest imposed upon any tax outstanding, if a provider responsible for
the payment or remittance of tax fails to pay, as required.
19.
The City may assess or reassess for any tax payable by the provider within three
years from the day the tax was remittable, except that where the City establishes that a
provider has made any misrepresentation that is attributable to neglect, carelessness or
willful default, or has committed any fraud in supplying any information under this by-law,
or in omitting to disclose any information, then the City may assess or reassess, for any
time the City considers reasonable, the tax payable.
20.
The City may send either by mail, registered mail, e-mail, or deliver by hand, a
notice of the remittance calculation made under the provisions of this by-law herein to the
provider at the providers' last known address, and that the amount determined is payable
within thirty (30) days from the date of mailing of the notice.
21.
Liability to pay an amount is not affected by an incorrect or incomplete assessment
or by the fact that no assessment has been made.
22.
The City is not bound by any information delivered by or on behalf of a provider
responsible for the payment of tax and may, notwithstanding any information that has
been delivered or if no information has been delivered, assess the tax payable.
23.
The remittance calculation, subject to being varied or adjusted due to an objection
or appeal and subject to a recalculation, shall be deemed to be valid and binding despite
any error, defect or omission in the assessment or in any proceeding related to it.
24.
Every person is guilty of an offence under this By-law who:
a.
makes, participates in, assents to or contributes in the making of false or
deceptive statements in a report, statement, form or other document
prepared, submitted or filed under or for the purposes of this by-law;
b.
destroys, alters, mutilates, hides or otherwise disposes of any records or
books of account, in order to evade payment or remittance of tax;
c.
makes, assents to or contributes in the making of false or deceptive entries,
or assents to or contributes in the omission to enter a material, in any
records or books of account;
d.
hinders, obstructs or interferes with any audit or inspection conducted by
the City or its agent pursuant to the provisions of this by-law;
e.
fails to, refuses, evades, or attempts to evade:
i. paying tax;
ii. remitting tax; or
iii. otherwise complying with this by-law; or
f.
Conspires with any person to commit an offence described under this
section.
25.
Every Person who contravenes any provision of this By-law, upon conviction, is
liable to such penalties as provided for in the Municipal Act, or the Provincial Offences
Act.
26.
A person who has contravened a provision of this By-law may be subject to a
penalty notice issued pursuant to the City's Non-Parking AMPS By-law 2021-68.
27.
If any or part of a provision of this By-law is declared by any court or tribunal of
competent jurisdiction to be illegal or inoperative, in whole or in part, or inoperative on
particular circumstances, the balance of this By-Law, or its application in other
circumstances, shall not be affected and shall continue to be in full force and effect.
28.
In this by-law, unless the contrary intention is indicated, words used in singular
shall include the plural and words used in the male gender shall include the female
gender and vice versa.
29.
The word "and" is an inclusive conjunction, the use of which indicates that all
items or phrases in that subsection, article, or list in which it appears are permitted or
required as the case may be. The word "or" is an alternate conjunction, the use of which
indicates that alternate or optional items or phrases in the subsection, article or list in
which it appears are permitted or required, as the case may be; however,
notwithstanding the foregoing, where the context permits, the word "or" may also be an
inclusive conjunction having the same meaning as the word "and".
30.
Any reference to legislation in this By-law includes the legislation referred to and
its amendments as well as any subsequent legislation which may replace the legislation
referred to, and its amendments thereto.
31.
This by-law shall come into force and effect on January 1, 2023.
Read and passed this
day of
, 2023.
CLERK
MAYOR
Column
1.
2.
3.
4.
SCHEDULE 1
Prescribed Tax Rate Table
Period
January 1 - January 31, 2023
February 1 - December 31, 2023
2024
2025+
Tax Rate Percentage
4%
2%
3%
4%