District of Squamish councillors voted Tuesday to delay a letter asking the province to include Squamish in a new set of taxes that will target foreign buyers and speculative housing purchases.
The provincial government introduced the two new taxes in the February budget. Both policies are meant to target increasing housing costs in markets around Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria and Kelowna.
Squamish was not included in either tax, prompting a discussion among councillors on whether a letter should be written asking for the community’s inclusion.
At a meeting on March 20 councillors expressed support for the foreign buyers tax in Squamish but were more cautious about the speculation tax.
Jason Blackman-Wulff supported both taxes on the basis that an uneven tax policy would make Squamish a target for investment buyers.
“Investors would flock to Squamish,” he warned. “Affordability is already an issue in Squamish, and it would make it even worse. Maybe 20 years ago we weren’t as plugged into the Metro Vancouver market, but we’re clearly implemented now with the highway improvement. It’s good to at least have that parity.”
The speculative tax would be an annual tax applied to 0.5 per cent of the vacant property value for BC residents, one per cent for out-of-province Canadians and two per cent for foreigners.
The foreign buyers tax would be a one-time additional 20 per cent tax on a property purchase.
Coun. Karen Elliott supported the foreign buyers tax, referencing “empty home syndrome.”
Coun. Susan Chapelle agreed that empty homes and parked capital are an issue, but said she didn’t want to impede the purchase of housing intended for rentals. She said statistics on housing and foreign buyers would make it easier to implement a tax.
“I don’t know if we do want to be included in the tax, especially the [speculation tax],” said Coun. Ted Prior, echoing concerns in Kelowna about housing values being reduced.
Prior said he would like to know where the tax funds are going before asking to be included.
Following the discussion, councillors agreed to draft a letter to the province requesting to be part of the foreign buyers tax, but decided they would wait until more details about the speculation tax were revealed.
That decision was revisited on Tuesday, after the provincial government released an update on their speculation tax that would exempt most BC-owned vacation homes.
“Generally it’s trending more towards a tax on wealth, than some other things,” said Mayor Patricia Heintzman. “As more details come out, I’m starting to potentially like this more and more. The biggest challenge is that, if we’re outside of it, the Prior said given the recent changes, councillors should wait before making a decision and review the policy.”
Blackman-Wulff warned again that if Squamish is not included in the policy it will change the market.
“I think that we just have to be on the same level playing field with that. There are options, people can still buy a second home, but they’ll be paying more for the privilege of doing so. It’s key to keeping prices from escalating further,” he said.
Council voted to hold off on the letter until further discussion takes place at a council meeting within the next two weeks.
