Car registration tax to rise in 2024 in greater Montreal, public transit to benefit

Owners of passenger vehicles registered in the greater Montreal area will be paying more registration tax next year – and the Montreal Metropolitain Community (CMM) will be permitted to collect it, the CMM has announced.

The agreement between the CMM and the SAAQ, expected to be sealed shortly, is made possible by a bylaw passed by the council on Thursday, a press release said.

The modification will apply not only to the registration tax of passenger vehicles in greater Montreal but also in Saint-Jerome.

Indexed annually to the consumer price index since it was first charged in 2011, the registration tax will rise from $45 to $59 on Jan. 1, 2024. It's expected to raise more than $125 million per year to help finance public transit in the region, according to the CMM.

The ARTM is facing a major deficit that's being blamed on declining ridership, in part due to the pandemic.

With the implementation of new large projects on the horizon, like the REM and the blue line metro extension, the CMM said the budget for public transit will rise from $3.2 billion in 2019 to $5.7 billion in 2028.

The tax measure was first recommended in a report issued by the transport commission in 2019 as a way to diversify sources of revenue for the regional transport authority (ARTM). The CMM acts as a planning and finance coordination body for 82 municipalities.