Gatineau

Tax season pushed back because of COVID

To help citizens shoulder the financial burden of the COVID-19 crisis, the Ville de Gatineau has decided to push back the second installment of its tax payment annual due date from June 30 to August 31. The decision was voted unanimously by municipal council, during a special meeting held on March 31. The meeting was held entirely via teleconference and all members of council, including the Mayor, participated.

Mayor Maxime Pedneaud-Jobin opened by addressing the COVID-19 crisis. He stressed the importance of following the recommended guidelines to prevent the virus from spreading, noting that things will worsen if people don’t cooperate.

He thanked those registered with jebenevole.ca, noting that extra volunteers will bring a helping hand for organizations hit by the pandemic. Since seniors are the most vulnerable to the coronavirus and the backbone of many organizations, he stressed the importance of supporting them now more than ever.  Pedneaud-Jobin added that, through the crisis, he’s seen a lot of solidarity among businesses, artists and families shining light on other people’s lives.

He also thanked municipal employees and their unions for their flexibility and willingness to work together despite the circumstances. He touched on homelessness, stating that it’s a worrisome issue that’s being taken care of by the Centre intégré de santé et des services sociaux de l’Outaouais (CISSSO). The mayor spoke about the federal and provincial governments’ actions to provide citizens financial relief during the crisis. 

Proceedings continued with a debate on the city’s property tax payment regulation. The purpose was to modify the timeline for the city’s property tax payment deadline to August 31.

Parc-de-la-Montagne-Saint-Raymond Councillor Louise Boudrias asked whether the deadline could be pushed back to November instead August as proposed. With the COVID-19 crisis evolving daily, she believed that adding a few months would be more beneficial for citizens.

She asked that the proposal should be conditional. With the Quebec government largely shutting down its economy until April 13, she asked if council could hold a discussion analyzing scenarios to better respond to the population’s needs, if the date eventually gets modified.

Hull-Wright Councillor Cédric Tessier said that, prior to being proposed to council, a lot of scenarios were studied. He added that, as with the COVID-19 crisis, there will be hefty costs for the city associated with pushing back the municipal tax-payment due date. He believed Boudrias’ amendment wasn’t very useful, noting that the city would be able to further modify the law to make it more beneficial for citizens.

Since the decision will cost the city around $750,000, Pedneaud-Jobin invited citizens to pay their property taxes before the new deadline, if possible.

While the modification won’t help the whole population, it will benefit property owners and banks, Pedneaud-Jobin said. He added that around 35 per cent of the city’s tax contributors are banks. The mayor said that the modification is a good first step, noting that he wants to see how things evolve before making further changes.

According to Lucerne Councillor Gilles Chagnon, the decision will be very helpful for property owners who are currently waiting for financial relief from the federal and provincial governments. He believed it was the best the city could do in the short term to lighten the financial burden of COVID-19 on citizens. “It shows that we’re here for them,” he said. “We’re going to do our part as well.”

For Deschênes Councillor Mike Duggan, the city did what it could do with the wiggle room it had to help the population financially. “We had to do something,” he said. “The discussion was really ‘how long do we do it for?’” He said that the date could be pushed back even further, depending on how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.

He added that property taxes are the city’s main source of income, stressing the importance of paying taxes as early as possible to minimize the impact on the city’s finances.

More information about municipal tax payments are available on the city’s website: https://www.gatineau.ca/portail/default.aspx?p=guichet_municipal/taxes_municipales&requete=taxes&ref=haut-de-page