Puslinch seeks clarification on property tax calculation for railways
by Mike Robinson.
While it might not have much impact throughout most of Wellington County, a reexamining how railways are taxed could provide a financial windfall for Puslinch.
On Feb. 1 council briefly discussed a resolution from the town of Atikokan asking for revisions to address what it calls an inequity in property taxation on railway right-of-way’s collected by Ontario municipalities.
Atikokan councillors contend railway companies in Ontario do not pay a proportionate share of municipal property tax as compared to other properties in that class, or compared to any other municipal tax class.
Atikokan council asked that these companies remit a more equitable share of taxes to the local tax base – calculated using a ton-mile concept (or the revenue gained from moving one ton of goods one mile).
