B.C. TAX PLAN AN AFFRONT

Alberta’s short-lived ban on B.C. wine attracted a bit of attention in our effort to ensure the federally approved Trans Mountain pipeline expansion isn’t needlessly delayed by John Horgan’s shaky administration. The same is true of the vow to slow the flow of energy to Western and Eastern Canada and let them rely on foreign sources of oil as they continue to shirk domestic supplies.

What hasn’t received the attention it deserves is British Columbia’s intention of imposing a prohibitive tax on non-residents who own vacation properties that are unoccupied for much of the year.

Canada is a single entity, but B.C.’s government is threatening to implement a special tax on people fortunate enough to enjoy a second home in our nation’s western most province.

The regulations have yet to find their way to the legislature, but it’s possible that even B.C. residents could be subject to the tax; that Vancouverites could be on the hook for an unexpected levy if they have a recreational property in the Okanagan or on Vancouver Island, even if it’s been in the family for generations.

Politics is a shrewd game and it’s likely that B.C. residents will be relieved of any pain, as the government has already hinted.

And it’s not a small hardship. One Calgarian reports that the tax on his B.C. recreational property will amount to an additional $33,000 a year.

The notion is that the measure will dampen speculation in B.C.’s most active real estate markets and improve affordability of housing. That’s not going to be the case. The average cost of a bungalow in metro Vancouver in 2017 was $1.4 million. That’s a lot of money to come up with for workers whose incomes traditionally trail those in Alberta.

It should be pointed out that while the B.C. government chooses to refer to the measure as a speculation tax, nothing could be further from the truth. People who have inherited a cabin or commit to visiting a community each summer are not speculators. They’re called an important economic contributor.

The inefficacy of the policy is especially true when one considers the government expects the tax will apply to just 15,000 residential properties. That’s a drop in the bucket, but a mean-spirited affront to Albertans and other Canadians.

Sadly, this is another case of a government making matters worse, rather than better. If B.C. wants to help people find shelter, it should create a supportive economic environment.

A discriminatory tax on property owners — many who have no voice through the electoral process — is reckless.