Quebec Municipal Affairs Minister Geneviève Guilbault wants to extend the end of the “double welcome tax” to homes received as an inheritance, La Presse Canadienne has learned.
On March 25, Guilbault introduced Bill 22, which aims, among other things, to end the “double welcome tax” for common-law spouses.
Currently, if a couple separates and one of the two people wishes to buy back the home more than a year later, they must pay the real estate transfer tax again.
Often, this second “welcome tax” is much higher than the first, as the municipality takes into account the increase in value of the portion being repurchased.
In an interview with La Presse Canadienne, the minister stated that her bill, which aims to correct certain “inequities,” has been very well received, with several suggestions for expanding its scope.
Related:
She is therefore proposing to amend the legislation to expand its scope and include an end to the “double welcome tax” on inherited properties.
“People were telling us about everything they’d been through, and there were situations involving bereavement,” Guilbault recounted in the interview.
“People were saying, ‘I inherited a house and I’m forced to pay a welcome tax on it even though I don’t intend to live in it.’”
“Sometimes, you don’t even know you’re going to inherit a house: someone dies, they’ve named you in their will, they leave you their house, and you end up having to pay.
“In cases of bereavement, we’re going to waive all property transfer taxes,” she said.
The minister emphasizes that parents, children, grandchildren, and spouses who inherit a home do not have to pay real estate transfer taxes, but siblings do.
Eliminating these “double welcome taxes” will result in losses for municipalities, the minister admits, but the amounts are negligible overall, she says.
In total, in 2024, real estate transfer taxes accounted for 3.9 per cent of municipal revenues. And the idea for now is not to eliminate them entirely, Guilbault notes.
“The goal was to strike a balance between (…) not disrupting municipal revenues too drastically overnight, while at the same time giving our taxpayers some breathing room,” she explains.
In doing so, the minister—who announced in January that she would not be running for re-election in October—hopes to lay the groundwork for a potential reform of the “welcome tax.”
The only catch is that, with the session adjourned until May 5, the bills under consideration have been put on hold, with no guarantee that they will be taken up again by the next premier.
Guilbault says she has discussed Bill 22 with the two CAQ leadership candidates, Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville, who she says were receptive.
“Both candidates think it’s (…) an excellent bill. Then we’ll have to see on Sunday who becomes CAQ leader and what their parliamentary plans are for the rest of the session.
“But I certainly made my case by saying: I think (…) this is the kind of bill that can be good for taxpayers and that we should prioritize,” she stated.
She notes that both Fréchette and Drainville have proposed several housing measures.
“It seems to me to be an issue on which they want to take action anyway. So, here we already have a very concrete step in a bill that has already been introduced.”
Unlike many of her colleagues, Guilbault has chosen not to endorse a candidate and to remain neutral during the leadership race.
CAQ members will elect their next leader—who will become de facto premier of Quebec—on April 12 at a convention in Drummondville.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
