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BRITISH COLUMBIA Why B.C.’s New Real Estate Speculation Tax is Not a Speculation Tax Rather, the new so-called speculation tax is really a non-resident owner tax (in addition to the newly increased, expanded foreign buyer tax). Owners of B.C. real estate who do not pay B.C. income tax (with exemptions for those who live in or rent out the home) will have to pay 0.5 per cent of their home’s assessed value in 2018, and two per cent per year from 2019 onwards (that’s $20,000 a year on a $1 million home). So it’s pretty clear that this tax affects all non-local-tax-paying home owners, not just speculators. But it has been cynically named a “speculation tax” because the NDP knows tax-paying voters believe real estate speculation is a leading cause of high home prices, and this way the party is seen to be doing something about it.
View Article Source: Vancouver Courier |