SD&G – The first of two payment benefits offered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to municipal councillors in Cornwall and SD&G is being eliminated.
As of Jan. 1, per diem payments for councillors (the amount they are paid for attending specific meetings) is now a taxable benefit.
A report to South Glengarry council last month (December) by treasurer Lachlan McDonald explains the change will have little change to how much tax councillors pay. But those officials will decide tonight (Monday) whether they want the township’s accounting department to withhold more tax so they don’t end up paying more come tax time.
The bigger change will come in 2019 when the CRA removes the one-third non-taxable provision for councillor salaries, which was part of the 2017 federal budget.
Up until now, one third of a municipal councillors’ paycheque was non-taxable, as a benefit for conducting business on behalf of the public.