Provincial Auditor General Jim McCarter completed an audit of MPAC in 2010 and  filed a report that the corporation faced some challengesOne serious shortcoming revealed in the report is a finding that one in eight properties, the selling price varied by more than 20% from the assessed market value determined by MPAC.The determination of each property’s market value is critical because it ultimately determines how much tax a property owner must pay.The discrepancy, revealed a large number of people may be paying either too much or too little property tax.Property tax is calculated by multiplying a property’s assessed market value by the applicable municipal tax rate.In its assessment of how well the corporation has been carrying out its duties, the audit compared the sale prices of 11,500 properties sold in 2007 and 2008 to their assessed value as of Jan. 1, 2008.It found that in 1,400 of the transactions — one in eight — the assessed value differed from the sale price by more than 20%.MPAC, which is funded by Ontario municipalities, administers a uniform, provincewide property assessment system. It also provides municipalities with other services, such as preparation of annual assessment rolls.So what does this mean to you as a homeowner and how can we help? When your next MPAC assessment arrives in the mail for your home give us a call and we can provide you with the local market research needed to determine if you are paying too much property tax and help you with an appeal. We leave it up to you to confess if you are paying too little!