Payment of the "welcome tax
Laval, Tuesday, August 13, 2024 - In the midst of a housing crisis exacerbated by low vacancy rates and rising house prices, Parti Laval wants to make home ownership easier for families and first-time homeowners. At the next Laval city council meeting, Louise Lortie, the opposition councillor for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, will table a notice of motion aimed at stimulating the "residential mobility the territory by proposing payment of transfer duties in four equal, interest-free instalments. "The welcome tax is a major expense for new homeowners and I believe we need to offer financial respite to families and young buyers by spreading this tax out." says Ms. Lortie.
Doing more to help first-time buyers
In 2023, the An Act to amend the Act respecting municipal taxation was adopted, allowing municipalities to offer interest-free instalment payments for transfer duties. However, in Laval, no measures have been put in place since then to give citizens more flexibility, and this is what Parti Laval is criticizing the Boyer administration for.
"Every time Quebec has given cities new powers to tax, the Mouvement lavallois didn't hesitate for a second to seize the opportunity to fill the city's coffers. The Boyer administration has always opted for new taxes and "forgotten" measures to help the population. Transfer tax rates have been increased twice, and they have taken advantage of the constant rise in house prices on which these rates are applied. It's a good thing we're going to be able to do this," argues interim Opposition Leader Claude Larochelle. Indeed, the average bill for duties paid on a single-family home reached nearly 8000$ in 2023, an increase of nearly 70% since 2017.
"The housing situation is critical, and the Boyer administration is content to find new taxes instead of helping those who pay them. Even though the tax paid has almost doubled in 7 years, buyers still only have 30 days to pay it. The rigidity of welcome tax payments has got to stop! Offering interest-free options is the minimum we owe our citizens, concludes Ms Lortie.
Parti Laval's proposal that all those planning to buy a property in the next few years will be affected by the welcome tax will be debated at the September 10 municipal council meeting.
Source: Parti Laval Cabinet
Information: Tommy Vallée, Communications Manager | 438 875-8663 | t.vallee@laval.ca