Vancouver slaps 15% tax on foreign home buyers • Hacker News Board

Re: Vancouver slaps 15% tax on foreign home buyers

#11

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:09 AM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #7

chillacy wrote: post #6

> The province will also allow the City of Vancouver to impose an annual vacancy tax on some residential properties that are left uninhabited. That seems like a great idea. Just throwing out an idea that could be terrible, why not tax all people who don't personally live in their home? That would effectively be a discount for people who want to buy and live in their own home, while discouraging people from buying mul…

Collecting rent isn't necessarily always bad since not everyone can buy a house, regardless of the price of the property.

[deleted]

Re: Vancouver slaps 15% tax on foreign home buyers

#12

Post by vivekd » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 12:19 AM UTC

thenewwazoo wrote: post #2

I wonder what the cost is to acquire a company incorporated in Canada and if the new tax takes those kinds of shenanigans into account. Here in California, buying a company that owns property is much cheaper in Prop 13 terms than buying property.

Canadian corporations have to have a certain % of the board as Canadian residents so I don't think we'll be seeing too much of that sort of fraud. At the same time this tax seems like a band aid solution taking the politically easy solution of blaming foreigners rather than looking at the structural problems of low interest rates combined with government regulations and groups preventing the construction of new housing.

I haven't been to Vancouver too often but I know here in Toronto you can get into the downtown core and still see rows of single family homes . . . which doesn't make much sense for a city this size. The city core has gone towards building expensive million dollar homes rather than high rises that could support many many families.

Re: Vancouver slaps 15% tax on foreign home buyers

#13

Post by lstamour » Wed, Aug 03, 2016, 4:34 AM UTC

vivekd wrote: post #12

thenewwazoo wrote: post #2

I wonder what the cost is to acquire a company incorporated in Canada and if the new tax takes those kinds of shenanigans into account. Here in California, buying a company that owns property is much cheaper in Prop 13 terms than buying property.

Canadian corporations have to have a certain % of the board as Canadian residents so I don't think we'll be seeing too much of that sort of fraud. At the same time this tax seems like a band aid solution taking the politically easy solution of blaming foreigners rather than looking at the structural problems of low interest rates combined with government regulations and groups preventing the construction of new housi…

Actually, I think the rules are more flexible than requiring Canadian residency. You've a different tax requirement if you're not Canadian-controlled, though. And they do, I think, tax heavily on investment income in businesses, but not so much land if it's required for the business.

It's certainly an interesting idea. Might depend on which jurisdiction you've incorporated under, whether provincial or federal....