Local Government Financial Resiliency - Consumption Tax Review

Whereas the UBCM membership endorsed the UBCM Select Committee on Local Government Finances report entitled Ensuring Local Government Financial Resiliency Report in 2021; And whereas the 2021 UBCM Ensuring Local Government Financial Resiliency Report included a recommendation to identify emerging sources of revenue and opportunities to share revenuetaxation, including examining province-wide revenue sharing focused on consumption taxation; And whereas a Memorandum of Understanding on Local Government Financial Resiliency was signed in 2022 between UBCM and the Ministries of Finance and Municipal Affairs, focused on addressing the recommendations within the 2021 Report and included establishing a Local Government Financial Review Working Group; And whereas the Federation of Canadian Municipalities 2023 Annual Conference facilitated an expert panel discussion on a new fiscal framework for municipalities which included ideas for other sustainable funding source; And whereas in 2020 the Province of Quebec implemented a new funding transfer to municipalities linked to the growth of sales tax revenues to enable municipalities to reduce the tax burden for municipal taxpayers: Therefore be it resolved that the Provincial Ministers of Finance and Municipal Affairs and the UBCM Presidents Committee direct the Local Government Financial Review Working Group to review and analyze the Quebec model of sales tax transfer for potential implementation in British Columbia.