Registration tax: Mayor Bruno Marchand discusses unpopular solutions

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Isolated in the region on the subject of the registration tax to bail out the public transport deficit, the mayor of Quebec evokes alternative solutions that could displease, such as an increase in property taxes or a reduction in services.

• Read also: Gilles Lehouillier closes the door to an increase in the registration tax

• Read also: “We feel a total disengagement”: 82 mayors ask Quebec to adequately finance public transport

“If we don’t charge anything more and the government doesn’t give us anything more, we are left with two choices at this point. We increase taxes [foncières] or we say to the RTC: “Cover the deficit by significantly reducing services,” said Bruno Marchand on Tuesday.

Others say no

He still has hope on the committee set up at the Metropolitan Community of Quebec (CMQ) to study possible solutions to finance the deficits of public transport companies. But in the last days, Lévis and Saint-Augustin said no to the registration tax. For his part, the mayor of L’Ancienne-Lorette, Gaétan Pageau, seemed unenthusiastic about the idea. “Currently, we are not there,” he maintained, Tuesday morning, on the sidelines of a press briefing.

The mayor of Quebec recognizes that the refusal of neighboring cities will influence his administration in its decision to impose or not the famous tax. “It’s definitely worth considering. There is no question of just the people of Quebec paying for something that is used more widely.”

If he understands that no politician has the taste to impose a new tax, he insists that we must find ways of passage. He is mainly counting on discussions with the Ministry of Transport. The City of Quebec wants to know how much money will be added to the budget of the Capital Transportation Network (RTC).

Force other cities

The City is studying the powers it has, said Mr. Marchand. It cannot require each city in the CMQ to collect the registration tax. But in the agglomeration — which includes Quebec, L’Ancienne-Lorette and Saint-Augustin — the central city can choose to impose the tax and force the other two municipalities to also increase their contribution, “perhaps by increasing their taxes “.

For Mayor Gaétan Pageau, “the crisis in public transportation is much bigger than just the Quebec region or the City. It is the province and even the country. What I would really like is for all the stakeholders to sit down together to find solutions. It is not just by adding a tax here or a tax there that we will find the solution. We need to think in the longer term.”

“Vain” exercise

According to the leader of the opposition at city hall, Claude Villeneuve, the exercise would be “vain” if Quebec goes it alone. “If the other cities don’t get on board, it’s a bit absurd to just tax the citizens of Quebec more.” Other cities refuse taxes because it’s not popular, he said. “I would appreciate a more constructive approach from them.”

For his part, the head of Équipe Priorité Québec, Patrick Paquet, challenges the mayor to follow through on his convictions and implement the tax. “We are going to remove it when we are in power.”

— With the collaboration of Taïeb Moalla

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