Lawsuit over taxes overpaid to the Agglomeration - Beaconsfield now claiming more than $15.4M from Montréal

BEACONSFIELD, QC, Feb. 27, 2024 /CNW/ - Mayor Georges Bourelle and the elected members of the Municipal Council are now claiming more than 15.4 million dollars from the City of Montréal for taxes overpaid to the Agglomeration for regional services such as public transit and police services.

"To date, we are the only one of the 15 demerged cities on the island that is in a position to recover the taxes overcharged by Montréal as a result of the lawsuit we filed in 2020. Mayor Valérie Plante's administration manages the Agglomeration without sharing, does not increase our regional services, but overtaxes us without allowing us to object," denounces Mayor Bourelle.

At its regular meeting on February 26, 2024, Council increased the legal claim against the City of Montréal for the fourth time in as many years. The amount claimed represents more than 15.4 million dollars.

Mayor Bourelle points out that the unfairness of the excessive taxes levied by Montréal is so great that, this year, for the first time in their history, all demerged cities have decided to systematically vote against any expenditure adopted by Montréal for the Agglomeration that they do not agree to share.

The problem of taxes collected in excess by Montréal dates back to 2017. Since then, despite numerous efforts to re-establish equitable financial sharing between cities, injustice and inequity persist in the sharing of expenses and costs for regional services. The Montréal administration systematically obstructs all negotiations. "They even refused to participate in a settlement negotiation last year," deplores Mayor Bourelle.

As a result of this miscalculation, the City of Beaconsfield initiated a civil action against Montréal in 2020. Every year since, Beaconsfield has amended its claim to reflect the current year's overpayment of taxes.

To protect the rights of Beaconsfield's taxpayers, the municipality pays the excess taxes levied by Montréal under protest, thereby ensuring that it meets its obligations with respect to regional services, while preserving the possibility of recovering the overpaid taxes.

SOURCE Ville de Beaconsfield