Former Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is taking legal action against the Ontario government over a denied tax refund approaching $700,000 tied to a home he and his wife previously owned in Mississauga.

Nurse, who currently serves as the head coach for the Philadelphia 76ers, filed a notice of appeal with the Ontario Superior Court. The couple is challenging the Ontario Ministry of Finance’s refusal to rebate the $697,500 Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) they paid during their $4.65-million property purchase in 2021.

The legal battle focuses on whether the couple met the criteria for a tax rebate under the provincial regulations active at the time of their purchase. In 2021, the NRST rate for qualifying foreign buyers within the Greater Golden Horseshoe region was set at 15 per cent, a figure that the province has since raised to 25 per cent.

Under those older regulations, foreign buyers could secure a rebate if they fulfilled several conditions. These parameters included maintaining continuous employment in Ontario for at least one full year and utilizing the property as a primary residence for a minimum of 60 days.

Property records show the Nurses acquired the Mississauga residence in October 2021 and subsequently sold it in September 2023. The sale occurred shortly after Nurse’s ten-year tenure with the Toronto Raptors organization reached its conclusion.

The Raptors parted ways with Nurse in April 2023, and he was appointed head coach of the 76ers the following month. The couple formally submitted their NRST rebate application in March 2024, which the Ministry of Finance ultimately denied.

According to court documents, the ministry rejected the claim on the grounds that the Nurses were no longer residing in the Mississauga home when the application was filed. The Nurses’ appeal contests this interpretation, arguing that the regulations in effect in 2021 did not legally mandate ongoing residency at the exact time of submission.

Furthermore, the court filing underscores that the sale of the Mississauga home was directly prompted by Nurse’s relocation to Pennsylvania to helm the 76ers, rather than any real estate speculation strategy. While Ontario has since modified its NRST rebate framework, introducing stricter guidelines regarding permanent residency status, the legal challenge maintains that these updates should not be retroactively applied to their 2021 transaction.

None of the claims presented in the legal appeal have been verified or heard in a court of law.

For Toronto sports fans, Nurse remains a foundational figure in local sports history. Stepping into his first NBA head coaching role in 2018, he led the Raptors to a historic milestone in 2019 by securing the city’s first NBA championship. The memorable playoff run concluded with a six-game series victory over the Golden State Warriors, bringing the Larry O’Brien Trophy to Canada for the first time.

Nurse followed that success by earning NBA Coach of the Year honors for the 2019-20 season, courtesy of a franchise-record .736 winning percentage during a 53-19 regular season. Across his five years managing the team—which followed a five-year stint as an assistant coach—he accumulated a 227-163 regular-season record, leaving the franchise with the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Raptors history at the time of his departure.

Beyond his NBA duties, Nurse also served as the head coach of Canada’s men’s national basketball team starting in 2019, taking over the program immediately following the Raptors’ title win.

Following his departure from Toronto, Nurse successfully transitioned to Philadelphia, steering the 76ers through the 2026 postseason. The organization has retained him as head coach heading into the upcoming 2026-27 NBA season.

Now, the championship-winning coach finds his historic ties to Ontario complicated by a high-stakes courtroom battle over a residential property tax bill. The Ontario Ministry of Finance has yet to file a public response to the appeal.

 

 

 


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