Should Montreal obtain financial compensation for the tax exemptions enjoyed by places of worship and buildings belonging to religious communities? The City’s Finance Commission believes so and recommends that the Plante administration make a request to the Government of Quebec.
Montreal has more than 900 places of worship and buildings owned by religious communities on its territory, but it does not derive any property income from them since these buildings benefit from a tax holiday under the Act respecting municipal taxation adopted in 1979. These uncollected taxes would represent an amount of more than $180 million — including a portion in school taxes — for all Quebec municipalities, it is estimated.
In its report on the 2023 pre-budget consultation tabled on Tuesday, the City’s Finance Commission makes 23 recommendations to the administration. In particular, she suggests that in the context of the secularism of the State, the City ask the Quebec government for compensation for the taxes it cannot collect from religious communities. “We are not against the exemption that Quebec makes for religious groups. Our goal is for Quebec to compensate for what is in its decision, ”argues the president of the Finance Commission and mayor of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Pierre Lessard-Blais.
The Commission does not know the exact amount of taxes not collected on the territory of the agglomeration of Montreal, but Pierre Lessard-Blais believes that this shortfall could reach “several tens of millions of dollars”.
“There are several religious groups that play an important role and have an important social contribution, but there is a certain inequity towards non-profit organizations which also have an essential social contribution, but […] have to pay property taxes, ”says the elected official.
Dissent
The Commission also addressed the issue of compensation in lieu of taxes paid to the City for government-owned buildings such as hospitals and schools. The Commission maintains that a change in the calculation formula resulted in lost revenue of 30 million for the City in 2022. It suggests that the administration ask the government to make up for these losses.
The City should also demand new powers in order to diversify its revenues and quickly put in place eco-fiscal measures to encourage citizens to change their behavior in favor of the ecological transition, believes the Commission.
The recommendations received the support of all the members of the Commission, with the exception of the one concerning tax exemptions for places of worship. The mayor of the borough of Saint-Laurent, Alan DeSousa, and his colleague from Outremont, Laurent Desbois, both members of Ensemble Montréal, registered their dissidence on this subject.
“Our society values the benefits granted to the various bodies that work for the well-being of our society, whether in a community, religious or other way. […] Demanding compensation for the amounts not received, I personally see that as a questioning of their existence and the value they add, “said Alan DeSousa. “I also find it curious that this type of compensation can only apply to the territory of Montreal. »
Mayor Plante’s office said it welcomed the Commission’s recommendations with “great openness”, without however commenting on the one relating to places of worship. ” [Ces recommandations] will be analyzed as part of the 2023 budget plan. They will also feed into the broader reflection that we are going to undertake as part of the Working Group on Montréal Taxation,” commented the firm.
The office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Andrée Laforest, invited the City of Montreal to send its requests: “As usual, we will analyze everything”.
For its part, the Union des municipalités du Québec (UMQ) points out that the question of tax exemptions for places of worship was not discussed among its members and that it was not part of the discussions surrounding the fiscal pact concluded in 2019.