Bill 120 explained in plain English
Estate Administration Tax Fairness Act, 2015
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
The Estate Administration Tax Fairness Act, 2015, modifies the calculation of estate value for tax purposes by excluding encumbrances and charitable bequests, and revises the estate administration tax rates, making it nil for estates $50,000 or less and capping the maximum tax at $3,250.
Bill 120, also known as the Estate Administration Tax Fairness Act, 2015, amends Ontario's Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998. It changes how the value of an estate is calculated for tax purposes by excluding the value of encumbrances on any property, not just real property. It also excludes bequests made for charitable purposes from the estate's value. The bill also adjusts the tax rates and structure for estate administration tax. For estates valued at $50,000 or less, the tax is now nil. For estates valued above $50,000, the tax rates are tiered, with a maximum payable tax of $3,250. This structure aims to ensure that no estate pays more tax than under the previous system. Additionally, the bill repeals certain amendments made by the Better Tomorrow for Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2011, related to information sharing with the Minister of Finance and estate assessment.
- Amends the Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998.
- Changes the definition of 'value of the estate' to exclude encumbrances on any property and bequests for charitable purposes.
- Introduces a new structure for calculating estate administration tax based on the value of the estate.
- Establishes that no estate administration tax is payable for estates valued at $50,000 or less.
- Sets new tax rates for estates valued over $50,000, with a maximum tax payable of $3,250.
- Ensures that the new tax structure does not result in a higher tax liability than the previous one.
- Repeals specific amendments made by the Better Tomorrow for Ontario Act (Budget Measures), 2011, concerning estate information and assessment.
- Estates of deceased persons in Ontario.
- Executors and beneficiaries of estates.
- The Minister of Finance (Ontario).
- The definition of 'value of the estate' is changed to reduce the taxable amount by the value of encumbrances and charitable bequests.
- The calculation of estate administration tax is altered, with no tax for estates $50,000 or less, and tiered rates for larger estates, capped at $3,250.
- The Minister of Finance has the power to prescribe dates for certain provisions.
- Regulations made under section 6 of the Act prevail over conflicting regulations made under the Estate Administration Tax Fairness Act, 2015, or other legislation.
- Most of the Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent (which has occurred).
- Section 5 of the Act (which deals with repeals) comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor.
- The tax changes apply to estate certificates applied for on or after the '2015 transition day', which is the day the Act receives Royal Assent.
- Reduces the estate administration tax payable for estates of $50,000 or less to nil.
- Changes the calculation of estate administration tax for estates over $50,000, with a maximum tax of $3,250.
- The maximum estate administration tax payable under the new rates is intended not to exceed the liability under the previous rates.
- The province of Ontario will collect estate administration tax under the new rate structure.
- The bill itself does not specify new penalties, but it amends the Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998, which contains provisions for the assessment and administration of the tax.
- The specific date for Section 5 (Repeals) to come into force is not yet proclaimed and will be determined by the Lieutenant Governor.
- The bill states that regulations made under clause 6(1)(c.1) prevail in case of conflict with other regulations or Acts, indicating that regulations may further define or implement aspects of the Act.
Changes how the 'value of the estate' is calculated by excluding encumbrances on any property and charitable bequests, and modifies the tax rates and amounts payable. It also changes how tax is assessed for certain periods and allows regulations to address transitional issues.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
Removes amendments made by this prior act to the Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998, specifically those relating to the assessment of estates and the provision of estate information to the Minister of Finance.
Source: Section 5
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced