Somerset Ward city councillor launches petition against tax break for Vanier Porsche dealer

Somerset Ward City Councillor Catherine McKenney is encouraging residents to sign a petition which asks Ottawa City Council to vote against a recommendation to provide a tax break for a new Porsche dealership to be built on Montreal Road.

McKenney's petition reads: 

“Montreal Road is one of the most important streets in our city.  It runs through the heart of a historically diverse, strong-knit community that has long been economically disadvantaged.  The Community Improvement Plan is an opportunity to reverse this. It is not meant to give a Porsche dealership a tax break.

Trickle-down economics thinking that supports a $2.9m tax break to a Porsche dealership will not advantage the residents of Vanier or the city at large, nor will it spur the economic activity that small businesses need today.

We call on City Council to vote against the recommendation to provide a tax break to a Porsche dealership.”

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, on the other hand, has called the situation a good deal for taxpayers.

“The cost of the CIP is $2.9-million, but the city gains $3.9-million,” Watson told the city's finance and economic development committee. “So, there's the math: we're a million dollars ahead.”

That increase in tax revenue, Watson argues, is more money for the city to spend on infrastructure and social programs.

McKenney's petition can be read and signed on the councillor's website.