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For failure to pay its taxes, the Church of Scientology is facing the seizure of the building it owns on Saint Catherine Street, in the Latin Quarter, if it defaults on a $51,932 tax bill by November 6.

This amount stems from unpaid 2014 property taxes on the La Patrie building, which the Church acquired in 2007 for 4.25 million dollars and remains unoccupied.

		As is the case in some thirty cities, the building remains unoccupied since it was bought.

Métro and Les Affaires have learned that the Church received a notice of sale from the City of Montreal on May 1. "Failure to pay in full the taxes due for the fiscal year 2014 will result in the sale of the building next November," says the City.

The auction would take place on November 9.

A spokesman for the Church of Scientology was contacted by Les Affaires but refused to comment or to say whether the Church knows if it can pay the City in time to avoid the seizure.

Métro and Les Affaires revealed in early May that the Church of Scientology owed about $117,000 in unpaid property taxes for the La Patrie building. An additional amount of $62,756 is also owed for the second 2015 property tax bill, due June 1. Fees, interest, and penalties are also charged.

To date, the Church of Scientology has only paid slightly more than $8,000 on its 2015 property tax bill, which totals about $125,512.

Since the publication of the article by Métro and Les Affaires, the Church has made two payments – one for $6,300 and another for $5,000 – both of which were credited to the 2014 balance.

For its 2014 and 2015 property taxes, the Church of Scientology has accumulated $2,517 in penalties, interest, and fees for non-payment.

In total, the Church of Scientology owes the City of Montreal $169,160 for its Saint Catherine Street building. This amount includes unpaid property taxes for 2014 and 2015 and interest, penalties, and fees.

The purchase of the La Patrie building was part of the Church of Scientology's vast worldwide real estate acquisition program for creating "Ideal Orgs" (ideal organizations), a type of Scientology mega-centers.

As is the case in some thirty cities, the building remains unoccupied since it was bought.

The Church of Scientology's main building on Papineau Avenue, in the Plateau Mont-Royal borough, is tax-exempt because it has a religious vocation. The Saint Catherine Street building does not benefit from this exemption because it is not occupied.