A new report says the implementation of a ‘commuter fee’ could raise additional revenue for transit, road repairs and other infrastructure projects in Winnipeg.
The peer-reviewed report, released Friday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba, said charging a fee to people who live in bedroom communities but work in the city could also target the problem of regional property tax differentials.
“Bedroom communities just outside of Winnipeg with lower property tax rates allow people to live close to the city for work but pay less in municipal property taxes than those who actually live within the city limits,” said the report’s author, researcher Riley Black.
“This both hurts the city’s tax base and exerts downward pressure on Winnipeg’s already low property tax rates.”
Black said his research showed that a $350,000 home in the city (as of 2016) would pay just over $2,000 in property taxes, while the same home in rural municipalities like Rosser (just over $1,000) or Springfield (almost $1,500) would pay considerably less.
The study also suggests implementing a proposed commuter fee in a way that doesn’t penalize low-income consumers.