New Ministerial Order favours Montréal - Beaconsfield maintains 6 million dollar claim against Agglomeration for overpaid taxes Français
BEACONSFIELD, QC, Oct. 19, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - The unfair clause allowing Montréal to overtax the suburban cities was cemented by the latest Ministerial Order rendered by the Government of Québec. This decision justifies even more the 4 million dollar lawsuit – which will be increased to 6 million dollars in January – filed by the City of Beaconsfield with the intention to recuperate taxes paid in excess for regional services overcharged by the Montréal Agglomeration.
"We have been trying to address this injustice for two years now. In fact, the Minister for Municipal Affairs had ordered the creation of a working committee to resolve the issue. Montréal wanted nothing to do with it because the erroneous algorithm works in their favour. So the Minister created her own ministerial committee to consider possible options. Montréal also opposed this to safeguard their advantage. And now the government has made this injustice permanent."
Mayor Bourelle reiterates that his administration has cooperated with the Minister since 2019 in order to find fair and equitable solutions for all taxpayers on the island of Montréal. A meeting took place at the Parliament building with Minister Andrée Laforest and members of her Department, and senior government officials subsequently connected with Beaconsfield's team of experts.
This overtaxation was generated by the adoption of a Ministerial Order in 2019 with an algorithm that distorted the historic equity of the 2008 agreement for the calculation of proportionate shares which the 16 municipalities on the island of Montréal pay for regional services, such as police and fire services, public transit, drinking water and waste water management.
In fiscal years 2020 and 2021, and soon 2022, the algorithm penalized the citizens of municipalities with high residential density, such as Beaconsfield, Westmount, Mount-Royal, Hampstead, Kirkland, Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Montreal-West, at the advantage of cities with higher commercial and industrial density.
Mayor Bourelle finds this injustice to be intolerable: "This must be corrected. It is inconceivable to pay more taxes without receiving additional services, because of a distorted algorithm that results in inequitable sharing of public service costs. This new Ministerial Order proves the importance of our legal proceedings to oblige the Government to respect the 2008 agreement for a fair sharing of agglomeration costs. The courts are now our only way to obtain compensation and justice."
SOURCE City of Beaconsfield
Mayers Office, [email protected], beaconsfield.ca
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