{"id":15434,"date":"2018-03-28T10:43:08","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T14:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/?p=15434"},"modified":"2018-03-28T11:16:24","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T15:16:24","slug":"british-columbia-speculation-tax-scaled-back-following-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/british-columbia-speculation-tax-scaled-back-following-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"British Columbia Speculation Tax Scaled Back After Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

With files from Penelope Graham<\/em><\/p>\n

British Columbia\u2019s ruling NDP government has responded to the backlash from homeowners protesting the Speculation Tax (ST), with new details announced March 26 by provincial Finance Minister Carol James and Premier John Horgan.<\/p>\n

Originally unveiled in the provincial 2018-19 budget within a 30-part housing plan, the ST had\u00a0proposed taxing BC homeowners who don\u2019t pay income tax to the province, 0.5 per cent of their home\u2019s value in 2018, and 2 per cent in 2019 and forward. It applied to non-permanently-occupied secondary or vacation homes in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Capital and Nanaimo Regional Districts (including the Gulf Islands), and the municipalities of Kelowna and West Kelowna.<\/p>\n

While BC residents would get a tax credit to offset the bill, depending on how much income tax they pay in the province, all non-BC residents would be liable for the full tax. This\u00a0parked a major outcry among owners of homes in the affected areas, many of whom say they aren\u2019t speculators<\/a> and cannot afford to pay the tax.<\/p>\n

Vacation Regions Now Exempt<\/h2>\n

Policy makers have scaled back the tax\u2019s reach, excluding the Gulf Islands and Juan de Fuca \u2013 popular vacation home destinations \u2013 and have introduced\u00a0a new tax rate; British Columbians with secondary homes that remain vacant a minimum of six months per year in affected areas will pay just 0.5 per cent. Canadian citizens and permanent residents with BC properties who reside outside of BC will pay 1 per cent, while foreign purchasers will be taxed the full 2 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver 99 per cent of British Columbians will not pay the tax,\u201d stated James. \u201cOnly those who hold multiple properties and leave them empty in our province\u2019s major cities will be asked to contribute.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homeowners in Neighbouring Provinces Hardest Hit<\/h2>\n

Much of the initial backlash came from Canadians \u2013 many from Alberta and Saskatchewan – who own vacation homes in the province. They argued they\u2019d be negatively impacted by the tax, with the worst affected likely to sell their properties.<\/p>\n

Local districts had also raised strong objections, with Nanaimo, the City of Kelowna, and West Kelowna all registering their protests with the Horgan government over fears of lost tourism and development. West Kelowna\u2019s council had stated it wants to be excluded from the new tax<\/a>, though it remains within the affected area under the updated proposal.<\/p>\n

Horgan, in response to Canadians’ concerns, stated the tax would neither be scrapped nor radically altered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy office has spoken to the Mayor of Kelowna as recently as [March 20],\u201d Horgan stated at the time. \u201cMinister James is responsible for the file and I have every confidence in her that she will be able to deal with the challenges that have been raised by some. I have to tell you there are a lot of people who are cheering us on and saying we have to stem the speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Real Estate Association Still Has Concerns<\/h2>\n

The British Columbia Real Estate Association released a statement in response to the tax changes, saying it\u2019s \u201cpleased to see more details of the proposed speculation tax,\u201d but continues to have underlying concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to more answers as the speculation tax takes shape and more opportunities to minimize its negative impact in all affected areas for all homeowners who pay income tax in Canada,\u201d states BCREA\u2019s release.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, homeowners in the city of Vancouver could potentially be charged twice for leaving their homes vacant: once by the city, and once by the province. Communities could face economic problems, due to fewer visits, less consumer spending, and lower housing prices.<\/p>\n

The real estate association adds that development properties can also remain empty for years before work commences, and that those tax costs would ultimately be passed onto buyers of new builds, and calls for a formal, public consultation before the tax is officially rolled out.<\/p>\n

Also read: <\/em>Pat Carney slams Horgan government\u2019s new Speculation Tax<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With files from Penelope Graham British Columbia\u2019s ruling NDP government has responded to the backlash from homeowners protesting the Speculation Tax (ST), with new details announced March 26 by provincial Finance Minister Carol James and Premier John Horgan. Originally unveiled in the provincial 2018-19 budget within a 30-part housing plan, the ST had\u00a0proposed taxing BC […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":15436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[487,33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-posts","category-real-estate-news"],"yoast_head":"\nBritish Columbia Speculation Tax Scaled Back | Zoocasa Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The controversial British Columbia Speculation Tax that was unveiled as part of the provincial budget has been scaled back following backlash from...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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