The Gazette
Tuesday, November 05, 2013
Re: “A new mayor and a new start for Montreal (Editorial, Nov. 4) The Gazette notes that the “divisions on this city council (may) … give rise to a diversity of bright ideas.”
Here is an idea that may very well help unify these “divisions.”
Homeowners in Montreal pay two separate tax bills that are based on property values: the municipal tax and the school tax.
It makes no sense to have a duplication of taxation services, which, of course, affects administrative expenses. This is an anachronistic way of doing things. In B.C., school taxes are included on municipal property-tax bills, and paid to the municipality, which in turn remits the monies to the province, to forward to boards, on an equal, perstudent basis.
No question there would be some savings if we were to amalgamate property and school taxes into one.
Denis Coderre might want to look ahead and think about the elections of November 2017, when the Quebec government is planning to twin schoolboard and municipal elections.
Chris Eustace
Pierrefonds
