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QUEBEC — Quebec municipalities have denounced as “prohibitive” administrative costs linked to the registration tax intended to finance public transportation.
In December, the government passed a law that allows cities to tax vehicles based on gasoline consumption.
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“Municipalities wishing to take advantage of this power must enter into collection agreements with the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ). However, the administrative costs imposed by the SAAQ are prohibitive,” the brief from the Union des municipalités du Québec reads.
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UMQ president Martin Damphousse, who is also mayor of Varennes, said he does not understand the reason for the fees. “It does not work. So it’s clear that it’s going to take some adjustments.”
He said small municipalities will have great difficulty generating funds with such fees.
“The implementation costs for MRCs (regional county municipalities) and cities wanting to implement a tax on registration in 2025 are $202,202. To this amount are added an annual management fee of two per cent of taxes collected, with a minimum amount of $60,000. A very large percentage of the revenue generated by a possible tax will be paid in administrative costs, which reduces the real potential of this tool, which must be able to be used everywhere in Quebec,” the brief says.
Relations are tense between the Quebec government and the cities regarding the deficit of public transport companies. Damphousse did not appreciate that Premier François Legault said last week it is “always easier for mayors to beg” from the government “than to clean up their expenses.”
“No municipality has the right to run a deficit. Therefore, the accumulated surpluses are very often used to balance the following budget with the accumulated surpluses. That’s sound management,” he said at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
“Do the two levels of government above us have the same rules? They have incredible deficit records,” he added. The latest Quebec budget forecasts a deficit of $11 billion.
Last week, the minister of transport, Geneviève Guilbault, caused an outcry by affirming that the management of public transport was not a mission of the state.
Her statement sparked an avalanche of criticism. Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand said he no longer had confidence in Guilbault and that she had no vision.
Tuesday at the Salon Bleu, the Parti Québécois tabled a motion “that the mayors of Quebec are not beggars.” The motion was blocked by the government.
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