To ease housing crisis, we should tax it differently

Profit and affordable housing don’t mix, May 21

The fundamental problem is that by deciding to not tax capital gains on a principal residence, the balance has been tipped toward pricing housing as an investment.

This has made at least half the country into petty capitalists by virtue of owning a home.

Putting capital gains on a principal residence is a political non-starter.

A potential solution might be to start a capital-gains tax for a portion of sales over, say, $2 million and then reduce it down over time.

Another approach could be through a flat property tax. What if it were progressive like income tax, where, say, the first $1 million of assessment were at one rate and the next million at a higher rate and so on? Donald Altman, Toronto