Some Belcarra homeowners now exempt as province eases up on speculation and vacancy tax
Posted December 10, 2019 1:45 pm.
Last Updated December 10, 2019 1:46 pm.
BELCARRA (NEWS 1130) – Starting next year, fewer homeowners will have to pay British Columbia’s speculation and vacancy tax.
The province is easing up rules for properties only accessible by water, and for military families, but the fight continues for those still seeking exemptions.
Belcarra Mayor Neil Belenkie is happy for the 57 cabin owners in his community who are now exempt, but he says the tax still applies to up to 10 more who are not speculators.
“Many of these satellite families are in fact B.C. resident families forced to work in the U.S., for example for filming, who are gone more than six months of the year, but their primary residences are in British Columbia,” Belenkie says, adding other communities have similar concerns.
Rick Glumac, the MLA for Port Moody-Coquitlam, says the tax, now climbing up to two per cent, is reviewed every year and things could change in the future.
“We will continue to listen and to improve this legislation and any other legislation that we bring forward,” he says.
Glumac insists more than 99 per cent of homeowners are exempt, and says some of the $115 million collected this year will be used to build more affordable housing.
