The Hasidic Jewish community of Boisbriand does not have to pay municipal taxes on its schools, as the City has been demanding for years, since they are “religious institutions,” ruled the Court of Appeal, confirming a previous judgment.
This decision has the effect of depriving municipal coffers of several million dollars, since the buildings in question were worth approximately 16 million in 2014, when the dispute arose.
According to Municipal Taxation Act (LFM), buildings owned or used by religious institutions are exempt from property taxes.
In the case of the Hasidic community of Boisbriand, everyone agrees on the fact that the activities taking place in each of the buildings concerned, notably the “girls’ school” and the “boys’ school”, are religious activities: study of sacred books, teaching of religion, rites and precepts of the Hasidic Jewish religion.
No teaching
“The children who attend these schools do not receive secular education, do not learn French or English, mathematics, history or geography. They only receive religious education, the teaching of Hasidic habits and customs. The education of these children is done entirely elsewhere, at home by the parents, who would be subject to a certain supervision by local or regional school authorities,” we can read in the judgment of the Court of Quebec, rendered in August 2020.
However, there was disagreement regarding the application of the law, since the owner of the buildings is the Hasidic Religious Community Center (CCRH). Is it a religious institution under the law?
In October 2018, the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec (TAQ) ruled that no, since the CCRH exercised no function other than the ownership of buildings. According to the TAQ’s decision, by opening the door to tax exemption for the CCRH, we risked ending up with other organizations “which will add the word ‘religious’ to their name to claim an exemption.”
This decision was overturned by the Court of Quebec two years later. It is this latest judgment which has just been confirmed by the Court of Appeal on Friday.
The tax exemption provided for in favor of religious institutions in the LFM “must be interpreted and applied in a broad, liberal, fluid and contextual manner rather than in a picky or strict manner,” write judges Geneviève Marcotte, Michel Beaupré and Peter Kalichman, of court of Appeal.
A religious institution can simply be an organized group of people whose aim is to practice their faith or religious belief, they point out.
The TAQ showed too much “rigorism” in its decision, which is contrary to the objective of the law, they continue. Even if the CCRH only holds the buildings to make them available to the community for religious purposes, that does not prevent it from being considered a religious institution.
The City of Boisbriand has already had to reimburse the CCRH 2.13 million in municipal taxes overpaid for the years 2013 to 2016, including interest. If it had to pay municipal taxes on its buildings, the CCRH’s tax bill would amount to $382,000 per year, according to the City, which reacted by saying it was “disappointed” with the judgment.
“We are studying the decision to decide whether or not we will appeal it,” said the director of communications, Bianca Desrosiers.
The City refused to reveal the amount of legal costs incurred to date in this case, asking the journalist The Press to make a request under the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies.