As the parliamentary session ended last week and an election campaign will be launched at the end of the summer, François Legault’s CAQ government is announcing that school tax increases will be confirmed by notice to owners next month will not exceed “2 or 3 % on average”.
At a press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Finance Minister Eric Girard said that, without his government’s intervention, school service centers – which have seen their needs explode as a result of the pandemic – should which mandated a tax increase of up to 17% for some taxpayers.
This dramatic increase in school tax is due to the increase in the number and salary of employees of school service centers, explained Mr. Girard, who says he wants to limit the continuing increase in the cost of living that hit taxpayers since .months.
The shortfall will be made up by Quebec, which estimates its financial assistance at $ 173 million.
When questioned by the press, the minister assured that this move had nothing to do with the election or the Liberal’s promise to lower taxes. Instead, he explained that his release was linked to the publication of tax rates in the Gazette officielle du Québec for delivery of tax notices in July.
Technically, the school tax rate will be reduced from $ 0.1054 to $ 0.1024 per $ 100 of assessment for 2022, the announcement statement explains.
The government contribution will increase to pay the school service centers accordingly.
The $ 173 million in aid announced Wednesday will be added to the $ 1.5 billion subsidy Quebec pays them each year. to reduce Quebecers’ school tax bill and maintain a single tax rate throughout Quebec.
This way of doing things came into effect after the April 2019 adoption of Bill 3, which primarily aims to end inequality between regions. The standardization of taxation at the minimum rate, to be carried out over four years, was finally carried out on July 1, 2020.
The risk of recession is rising, the minister warned
Furthermore, Eric Girard argues that the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise its core rate by three-quarters of a point will have the effect of slowing economic growth.
However, the Minister considers that the risks of a recession in Quebec remain relatively low. He now appreciates them around 35% for 2023. That said, the probability of positive growth is always twice as high as the probability of shrinkagehe said on Wednesday.
The impact of recent fiscal tightening measures should be felt by the end of the year, the Minister pointed out.
Radio Canada
Source: Radio-Canada
