Non-tax Revenue for Funding Municipal Governments: Take-up, Constraints, and Emerging Opportunities

Abstract

What are user levies? How do they differ from a tax? When are user levies an appropriate or preferred policy instrument? What are the trends in user levies across Canada? What are the implications for municipal activities and budgets? How can user levies be used by municipal governments in relation to emerging pressures? This chapters will document the increasing reliance on user levies by municipal governments in Canada compared to the provincial and federal governments and show that this increasing reliance is generally consistent across Canada. It will outline reasons for the increasing reliance. The paper will clarify the legal definitions and limitations on user levies in Canada and what this mean for the design and implementation of these levies. Finally, the paper will explore both existing and emerging opportunities for the employment of user levies using case studies and present areas of potential concern along with suggestions for improvement.

Keywords: Municipal Revenues, Non-tax revenues, user fees, regulatory charges, proprietary charges, user levies

JEL Classification: H27, H71, H72