Legault is promising a reduction in school taxes of $1.3 billion

News 23 January, 2018

Photo Agence QMI, Sebastien St-Jean
The leader of the Coalition avenir Québec, François Legault, is surrounded by the deputies Jean-François Roberge and François Bonnardel.

Charles Lecavalier

Tuesday, 23 January 2018 09:24

UPDATE
Tuesday, 23 January 2018 16:22

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SAINTE-ADELE | not abolishing, the CAQ promises a single rate of school tax for Quebec as a whole, a reduction in the tax burden of $1.37 billion.

“A government of the QAC will ensure that the school tax rate is the same in the 17 regions of Québec, over a period of 4 years,” said François Legault Tuesday, during the press briefing closing the caucus présessionnel of his party, in Sainte-Adèle.

Mr. Legault comes to enhance the proposal of the liberal standardize at the lowest rate the school tax by administrative region. This reform gave them already $ 670 million in the pockets of the owners. The extent caquiste adds a $ 700 million, to reach $1.37 billion.

The chief caquiste back on a campaign promise of 2014 : it proposed the abolition of the school tax. He said today that he will ease the tax burden otherwise in future ads. “We want to put more money in the portfolio of families, but we will do it in a different way”.

A few months from the general election, he also announced Monday that the CAQ would put in place a policy of screening and early intervention of problems of neuro-development for all children in Quebec.

No cut in services

Mr. Legault says that despite the tax cuts, he did not intend to cut services. Not a matter of “reducing the budget” in education. “When I look at the most recent financial statements, the government of Quebec has a surplus of $ 2.2 billion”, he launched.

François Legault has called the measure of a liberal “pin hay” due to significant regional disparities in the rate of taxation. For example, in the Saguenay and Mauricie regions, it is three times higher than in the Laurentians and almost two times higher than Montreal. The realization of this promise would save us $ 520 per year to the owners of a residence of $ 280,000 resident at Saguenay, for example.

Mr. Legault believes that its proposal is fair, even if the value of the real estate market differs from one region to the other, and that the final bill depends on the value of the property. “The school tax has become a way to finance not the municipal services, but the government of Quebec. Education, it is not the responsibility of the municipality and the services that are given should not be different from one region to the other,” said Mr. Legault.

The tax cuts of school by region, for the owner of a residence of$ 280,000