On March 22, I posted a blog outlining the controversial parking tax in Montreal. The city has instituted a new tax on parking lots in the downtown area, and is using the revenue to fund public transit. I ended my blog with the statement, "Maybe that's the price a city must pay for good public transit, but it just doesn't seem fair."
I want to explore the logic of the fairness issue a little further.
I support Montreal's efforts to improve public transit. My only concern is whether it is fair to saddle the parking lot owners of downtown Montreal with a major portion of the cost.
When I interviewed Alan Desousa, Vice Chair of the Executive Committee for Ville de Montreal, he spoke about the fairness issue, saying that of the CA$60 million Montreal was contributing to the Montreal Transport Commission for public transit, CA$20 million would come from the parking lot tax and CA$40 million would come through municipal property taxes, "which we thought was a reasonable balance. And these are parking lots in the downtown area, since it is a primary beneficiary of our public transit system in Montreal."
I agree with the idea that businesses in downtown Montreal should help pay for the transit system if they benefit from the improvements. But the parking lot owners of downtown Montreal will not benefit from public transit, and in fact could be hurt by it – and yet they are the businesses being singled out to pay the bill. The balance does not seem to be so reasonable when you break it down like that.
DeSousa says that if the money from the parking tax is used as a downpayment that will enable the city to gain even more provincial funding for public transit, "then I think everyone would recognize that this is a triple win situation – a win for the city, a win for the province, and a win for the business community."
And a loss for the parking lot owners of downtown Montreal.
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