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2 stouffville suntribune 9 thursday feb 10 2005 publication mail agreement 40007673 theplayoffs ght at 750pm vs couchiching terriers game 1 best of 7 north conference quarter finals stouffville arena hockey tournament supports new parkview a threeonthree outdoor hock ey tournament will help the new parkview homes building fund the golin thompson classic goes feb 19 on the buttermakers rink at boyds source for sports in stouffville registration is 300 per team or 50 per player for more information call 416- 7378441 iclearai choice of solid wood veneer or laminate italian slate 8 to choose from lifetime guarantee delivery setup included pools seawayp6olsntubscom wwftwmlllhlljmwliroctrommto vutm m imjbwuwmuiatjlamlaiaffilb pictures worth a before hair make up photography by headlffm after x horse farm tax hike on hold by joan ransberry staff writer horse farm owners are keeping their fingers crossed a review of property assessment will result in them not facing a tax increase of as much as 1300 per cent following lobbying by farm owners and equestrian associ ations ontario finance minister greg sorbara called for a review for the property tax classification of equestrian facilities pending the outcome the finance minister has requested the municipal property assessment corporation not make any changes to the clas sification of equestrian facili ties i have asked the corpora tion to meet with representa tives from equestrian associa tions to develop criteria for assessing equestrian facilities mr sorbara said i expect to see a report about these crite ria within the next month the move comes as a great relief to the many horse farm owners who have been reassessed as well as the thou sands of others who have yet to be reassessed said andrea mcgill marketing and com munications coordinator for the richmond hillbased ontario equestrian federation following recent reassess ments some horse farms saw greg sorbara finance minister asked equestrian community and assessment corporation to meet property taxes jump from the agricultural rate of 03 per cent to a commercial rate of 4 per cent it meant some equestrian farm owners would get hit with a 13fold increase shirley hetherington owner of blue star farm let mr sorbara know taxes on her 75acre mount albert property could jump from 15000 to about 100000 cant afford increase either wed have to go under or wed charge back to the horse borders she said a lot of pleasure riders could nt afford an increase theyd have to sell their horses york region is known to some as the horse capital of canada being home to 1365 horse farms and 17612 horses oak ridges mpp frank klees said a number of york region horse farm owners appealed to him for help switching the assessment from agricultural to commercial will threaten to put some people out of business he said i wrote to mr sorbara in november and asked him to review how the municipal property assessment cor poration was dealing with this matter hopefully changes will be made he said the equestrian federation and the association of riding establishments launched a let terwriting campaign asking the province to reconsider how it carries out property reassess ments ms mcgill said we are looking forward to sitting down with the corpora tion in the very near future to ensure that appropriate crite ria for assessing all equestrian facilities are developed ms mcgill said allan ehrlick president of the equestrian federation wel comes mr sorbaras actions we at the federation have put a lot of energy and efforts towards what we feel has been an inequitable taxa tion increase on farms and while the task is far from over it is encouraging that the gov ernment is listening he said i jd ishhr jmsml pbfflsstmf 1 i 55wwfiba3s3kf cf l rvr iitofck m ii h zrgtty jl i 1005 ikss s hi ks lvv t csf 1 00am to 300pm liusiai rfr 9 m s hall 5 aviation ballroom 6900 airpost road mm m bu wont syant to miss this annual e speak one on one with exhibitors showcasin jlover 50 summer gamps for your child explore opportunities in arts grafts riding swimming tennis golf rviuu vyii i ii 1 111 lg ici ii u9y gymnastics morel parkin and admission jfottmoreinrormationlprto inliwiithlwmmaw iuukv