An election budget

“For the first time in its history, the city’s residential property tax has been set at less than $1 for $100 evaluation (.955 cents) for 2009,” declared mayor Gilles Vaillancourt to the press.

To boot, he also announced a freeze on water tax, on rates of water purification, regional public transit and snow removal. That sums up the essential measures that will limit tax hikes to just the $6.79 that owners of single family homes will be expected to pay on the average evaluation of $210,000. The taxes on such a dwelling will total exactly $2,403.11 in 2009.

“Just a little over 82% of the owners of single family homes will see their tax obligations vary by an increase equal to or less than the rate of inflation projected at 1.7%,” the mayor specified.

In fact, for average single family units the 2006, 2007, and 2008 budgets were marked by hikes of 1.8% ($40.08), 1.5% ($34.63), and 1.6% ($36.63) respectively. For 2009, the same house is the target of a marginal increase of 0.3%, amounting to $6.79.

In the last budget deposited for an election year (2005), tax payers were treated with similar ‘kindness’, illustrated by tax freezes on residential and commercial property.

If we go back 8 years, the budget tabled for the 2001 election year was even more generous toward owners of average single family dwellings, who benefited from a $60 reduction in their municipal taxes.

Same for non-residential property whose rate declines 14.9 cents from 2008 and pegs at $3.44 per $100 for 2009, and for lots with services which for 2009 will be assessed $1.91 per $100, a drop of 22.8 cents.

The only rate to increase is the special tax on renewal of water infrastructures, climbing from 3.5 cents to 3.8 cents per $100 evaluation.

The tax rebate for seniors (65 and over) is maintained, with those on the guaranteed income supplement receiving $200, others $100.