Close X
Wednesday, January 8, 2025
ADVT 
National

Vancouver Empty Homes Tax To Include Secondary Units That Are Used For Airbnb

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 20 Sep, 2016 01:54 PM
    Vancouver's proposed empty homes tax will include secondary units being booked full-time on the vacation rental website Airbnb, with the maximum fine for people who evade the levy set at $10,000.
     
    New details of the tax emerged at city hall where council voted to move forward with public consultation despite staunch opposition of three councillors from the centre-right Non-Partisan Association.
     
    Coun. George Affleck called the tax a "bureaucratic nightmare," while Coun. Elizabeth Ball said the proposal was frightening seniors who may have had to leave home to care for a sick loved one, for example.
     
     
    Mayor Gregor Robertson dismissed their concerns as "fear-mongering" and says the process for enforcing the tax — through self-declaration, audits and complaints — was the same as the income tax process.
     
    Robertson said $10,000 is the maximum fine the city can impose under its charter, but it will consider a combination of the fine plus a higher tax rate for people who fail to self-declare or fraudulently declare.
     
    The tax would not apply to primary residences, only secondary units such as investment condos that are not being used by a long-term tenant or units being exclusively used for Airbnb.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Grieving Ontario Mother Of Slain Man Livid, Depressed Over Controversial Plea Deal

    Grieving Ontario Mother Of Slain Man Livid, Depressed Over Controversial Plea Deal
    Wesley Hallam, 29, was killed in 2011 at a drug-fuelled house party in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., where he was stabbed to death, decapitated and dismembered. 

    Grieving Ontario Mother Of Slain Man Livid, Depressed Over Controversial Plea Deal

    Brampton School Didn't Dash Teen's Acting Dreams, Judge Says In Dismissing Lawsuit

    Brampton School Didn't Dash Teen's Acting Dreams, Judge Says In Dismissing Lawsuit
    The lawsuit filed by Tiffany Peters alleged that negligence on the part of staff at Bramalea Secondary School in Brampton, Ont. led to a knee injury she sustained while taking part on the track and field team.

    Brampton School Didn't Dash Teen's Acting Dreams, Judge Says In Dismissing Lawsuit

    Quebec Zoo Employee In Stable Condition After Being Attacked By Lion

    Quebec Zoo Employee In Stable Condition After Being Attacked By Lion
    A lion at Quebec's Granby Zoo attacked an employee Monday, fracturing her backbone, the head of the facility said. The woman, in her early 20s, was in hospital in stable condition but zoo director Paul Gosselin called her injuries "severe."

    Quebec Zoo Employee In Stable Condition After Being Attacked By Lion

    Canada-Wide Arrest Warrant Issued For Fourth Suspect In Newfoundland Murder

    Canada-Wide Arrest Warrant Issued For Fourth Suspect In Newfoundland Murder
    Investigators say a Canada-wide arrest warrant has been issued for 23-year-old Chesley John Lucas of Paradise on charges of first-degree murder, forcible confinement, robbery and arson.

    Canada-Wide Arrest Warrant Issued For Fourth Suspect In Newfoundland Murder

    Many In Diaspora Approve Liberal Push For Reconciliation In Scarred Sri Lanka

    Many In Diaspora Approve Liberal Push For Reconciliation In Scarred Sri Lanka
    OTTAWA — The message of tolerance at the heart of the Trudeau government's international outlook is now being put to the test in one the world's most ethnically scarred postwar countries — Sri Lanka.

    Many In Diaspora Approve Liberal Push For Reconciliation In Scarred Sri Lanka

    Alleged Fraud Leads To Front-office Firing At Alberta Motor Association

    EDMONTON — The Alberta Motor Association says it has fired one of its executives after an alleged fraud.

    Alleged Fraud Leads To Front-office Firing At Alberta Motor Association