High Property Prices Mean Change Needed For Home Tax Breaks: Metro Vancouver

VANCOUVER — Metro Vancouver is urging the province to revise the criteria for property-tax grants, saying soaring real estate prices have made fewer homeowners eligible for the tax break.

 

The regional board says it will push for the change ahead of the provincial election in May following an unprecedented rise in home prices.

 

B.C.'s basic homeowner's grant reduces the amount of taxes paid on a primary residence by up to $570 for properties valued at $1.3 million or less.

 

 

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says the benchmark price of a detached home was $1.5 million last month, and B.C. Assessment is warning owners they may see their property assessments jump by as much as 50 per cent compared to last year.

 

The regional board says in a release that the region's share of the homeowners' grants issued has slipped over the past decade, from 53 per cent to 46.8 per cent.

 

Board's vice-chairman Raymond Louie says the grant is intended to help people but is failing to do so in too many cases.