The secret board of MPs that manages internal House of Commons affairs is allowing MPs who own a house or condo in Ottawa as their second home to pay down their mortgages with a $75 per diem intended for meals, the Citizen has learned.
The per diem is in addition to a $25 daily accommodation allowance MPs receive year-round if they own a second house or condominium in the capital, and using it to buy a home is allowed despite a rule forbidding mortgage payments from a separate $24,000 expense allowance.
Combined, the per diem and the accommodation allowance could add up to $17,225 a year for house costs and mortgage payments if an MP spends only four days a week in Ottawa while Parliament is sitting.
The $25 daily accommodation allowance is available without receipts throughout the year as long as the MP does not rent out the residence.
The move outraged John Williamson, head of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who noted parliamentarians last week defended a $4,000 hike to the general expense allowance for all MPs by saying it was transparent compared to earlier expense payments.
"MPs insist their expenses are completely transparent and now we're discovering a meal per diem can be used to pay off a housing mortgage? This is the height of arrogance, this is beyond the pale," said a clearly upset Mr. Williamson.
A surprised Conservative MP Garth Turner said he was unaware of any option for using per diems to help pay down mortgages and added he lost money on a house he purchased during his first term as an MP from 1988 to 1993.
He argued the per diem and accommodation allowance could help an MP turn a profit by selling a house or condominium in a seller's housing market
.
"I didn't claim a nickel when I owned that house," Mr. Turner said. "If it looks like it subsidizes real estate purchases through a back door, it's wrong. Average Canadians have to pay their mortgages out of their after-tax dollars."
Continued...
The per diem is in addition to a $25 daily accommodation allowance MPs receive year-round if they own a second house or condominium in the capital, and using it to buy a home is allowed despite a rule forbidding mortgage payments from a separate $24,000 expense allowance.
Combined, the per diem and the accommodation allowance could add up to $17,225 a year for house costs and mortgage payments if an MP spends only four days a week in Ottawa while Parliament is sitting.
The $25 daily accommodation allowance is available without receipts throughout the year as long as the MP does not rent out the residence.
The move outraged John Williamson, head of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who noted parliamentarians last week defended a $4,000 hike to the general expense allowance for all MPs by saying it was transparent compared to earlier expense payments.
"MPs insist their expenses are completely transparent and now we're discovering a meal per diem can be used to pay off a housing mortgage? This is the height of arrogance, this is beyond the pale," said a clearly upset Mr. Williamson.
A surprised Conservative MP Garth Turner said he was unaware of any option for using per diems to help pay down mortgages and added he lost money on a house he purchased during his first term as an MP from 1988 to 1993.
He argued the per diem and accommodation allowance could help an MP turn a profit by selling a house or condominium in a seller's housing market
.
"I didn't claim a nickel when I owned that house," Mr. Turner said. "If it looks like it subsidizes real estate purchases through a back door, it's wrong. Average Canadians have to pay their mortgages out of their after-tax dollars."
Continued...
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