B.C. finance minister says speculation tax will tackle housing crisis

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government has introduced a speculation and vacancy tax that Finance Minister Carole James says will moderate the overheated housing market and create more homes for renters.

James says the aim of the tax is to improve housing affordability for thousands of people, including seniors forced to live in their vehicles and young professionals who leave the province because they can’t find a place to live.

Speaking in the legislature, James says the New Democrat government is committed to tackling the housing crisis and this tax is one of its major tools, adding her government is tackling the housing crisis head on and the speculation and vacancy tax is an essential piece of that plan.

“We are supporting a strong economy, we are supporting businesses who can’t find employees because they can’t afford housing, we are addressing the crisis for the families in British Columbia. That is our job as government and we are going to get it done,” James told the B.C. Legislature.

The proposed tax is calculated at rates of 0.5 per cent, one per cent or two per cent of assessed value of homes in core, urban centres, with the highest rate applied to foreign owners and so-called satellite families.

James says the new legislation includes provisions for exemptions based on special circumstances such as people seeking medical treatment or those with disabilities.

The government’s introduction of the tax in February’s budget was met with widespread criticism from people with second homes, communities and developers saying it targets them unfairly and could impact local economies.

Opposition Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson says the New Democrat government’s speculation and vacancy tax will hurt the development of family homes and rental properties in B.C. Wilkinson says he expects the tax to cause a downturn in the construction industry, which will result in job losses.

“We’ll be looking at the bill, but our goal is to defeat this bill because it’s a phony tax,” Wilkinson says. “It accomplishes nothing, except grab revenue for the NDP. We don’t believe in that”

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