National

BC's speculation tax on homes expands

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Nov, 2023 04:07 PM

One of British Columbia's first measures to combat the housing crisis is being expanded to include 13 more communities.

Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says the New Democrat government's speculation and vacancy tax will now apply to 59 B.C. cities and towns.

Vernon, Penticton, Courtenay and Kamloops are among the 13 communities that have been added, and starting in 2025 residential property owners will have to declare how they used the home in 2024.

The levy aims to get more people into empty homes and has collected $313 million since it was first introduced in 2018.

Conroy says independent data found the speculation tax helped increase the available rental stock in Metro Vancouver in 2020 by 20,000 units.

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the government's recent legislation restricting short-term rental accommodations in B.C. is already showing increases in long-term rental listings in Kelowna and Victoria despite the law not taking affect until May 2024.

We've had enormous success in places where the speculation and vacancy tax has been applied. Thousands of homes are now being lived in because of this. 🏡

It's been making a difference in the lives of people and we have to keep going.
👇🏾https://t.co/uOTd5ARrlZ
— Ravi Kahlon (@KahlonRav) November 22, 2023

Other communities being brought under the speculation umbrella are Coldstream, Summerland, Lake Country, Peachland, Comox, Cumberland, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and Salmon Arm.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Tentative deal ends job action by teaching support staff at Simon Fraser University

Nearly 1,600 members launched job action on Sept. 26 after being without a collective agreement for 19 months, forcing the cancellation of tutorials, labs, lectures, office hours and the marking of assignments. Key issues included wages, class size and pensions for instructors.

Tentative deal ends job action by teaching support staff at Simon Fraser University

Overdose homicide in Nanaimo

Mounties in Nanaimo say they're investigating the fatal drug overdose of a woman back in March that they now believe was a homicide. The Nanaimo R-C-M-P says its serious crime unit is looking into the death of 52-year-old Wendy Head, who was found dead at a home in the city on March 7th.

Overdose homicide in Nanaimo

Escalating theft and violence aside, London Drugs not considering closures: president

London Drugs president Clint Mahlman says the company has no plans to close stores due to escalating violence and theft, though the issue has reached a "crisis point" for Canadian retailers. Mahlman says the company was disappointed to learn that a Vancouver city councillor said on social media that London Drugs was considering closing one of its main stores in the city, at the intersection of Granville and Georgia streets, due to crime.

Escalating theft and violence aside, London Drugs not considering closures: president

Funding for BC hospitals

Hospitals in Merrit, Oliver and Salmon Arm will get 7.5-million-dollars in permanent funding from the province to help stabilize physician emergency-room coverage. Health Minister Adrian Dix says challenges like worker recruitment and retention and the ongoing toxic-drug crisis are more prominent in rural and remote communities.

Funding for BC hospitals

IHIT officer testifies to executing DNA warrant of man accused in B.C. murder trial

Sgt-Maj. Heather Lew told a B.C. Supreme Court murder trial that she collected a few drops of blood from Ibrahim Ali's finger on Sept. 9, 2018, two days after his arrest and almost 14 months after the girl's body was found. Ali has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of the teen.

IHIT officer testifies to executing DNA warrant of man accused in B.C. murder trial

Hamas's attack on Israel: Two victims with Canadian ties laid to rest

Two victims with ties to Canada who were killed in Hamas's attacks on Israel were remembered fondly by relatives on Wednesday, who called for the world to recognize the brutality of what happened. Tiferet Lapidot, 22, was formally identified by authorities on Monday, more than a week after she died at a music festival near the Gaza Strip border, where Hamas's attack began on Oct. 7. Her family had thought she was among those being held hostage.