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Prescott Committee of the Whole Hears Report on Railway Taxation

The Ontario government is trying to create a uniform system of taxation for Railway Right-of-Ways.

During Committee of the Whole this week Prescott’s Treasurer Mathew Armstrong presented the details surrounding this particular form of taxation. According to Armstrong the taxation rate is based on a rate-breaker and not value, like residential property. He says the government is trying to create a uniform system.

Municipal rates change from area to area and the gap between regions can be large, with the lowest rates being a twentieth that of the highest. Armstrong says the municipality was using a rate of $91.05 in 2017 and that will go up 7 dollars in 2018. According to the treasurer they pay around $12,000 a year to the CN for pedestrian crossovers, adding that town is responsible for bridge upkeep. Mayor Brett Todd says a big issue is high-tonnage railway right-of-ways because the low rates applied to high-tonnage rail lines don’t reflect the value of the properties.

Armstrong says the increase will help but won’t cover everything.

Mayor Todd finished by saying a change to the high-tonnage rates, which have not been released yet, is a way to make things fairer for municipalities.

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