Beware of NDP-Green hidden agenda

The NDP budget is an attack on your life savings and livelihood, and it’s going to cost all British Columbians. Not just business owners, but home owners as well.

In order to fund its campaign promises, the government is laying the foundation to harvest your personal wealth you had planned to save for retirement or to pass on to your children and grandchildren.

The speculation tax is one such example.

As it stands, this rash tax will negatively impact British Columbians throughout the province — like William Jones from Kelowna. William and his wife have owned a one-bedroom condo in Vancouver for over two decades and are planning to spend more time there with their grandchildren.

They would like to keep their family home in Kelowna, but as unfortunate victims of the speculation tax, they will likely be unable to enjoy their retirement as they had planned.

Home construction in British Columbia will also be affected — an activity that generates significant direct and indirect employment opportunities. Under this new tax on capital, many proposed developments are in danger and may not proceed due to increased costs – ultimately reducing the supply of housing in our province. This ill-advised tax might solve the housing crisis in the worst way possible — job losses that will cause families to flee British Columbia.

Not owning a second property won’t protect you either. Canadians have the ability to move their money elsewhere, leaving all middle-class British Columbians on the hook for the government’s everincreasing tax grabs. This is just the beginning of the same problems we saw in the 1990s. Once the NDP government realizes it needs a lot more money to fund its expensive campaign promises, we may see the target areas expanded and primary residences included.

The BC Green party, which helps prop up this government, states in their platform that they would “introduce measures to tax lifetime capital gains on principal residences in excess of $750,000. This policy is part of our strategy to reduce speculation.” How can British Columbians have any certainty that their life savings will be safe?

There is an affordability problem here in British Columbia and we need to work together to solve it. We need to target true speculation. However, tax increases need to be considerate of all British Columbians – including the middle class. The NDP is taking us down a dangerous path.

Let them hear your voice today, before it’s too late.

Norm Letnick is MLA for Kelowna-Lake Country.