We are now 2nd class citizens

[MylesP]

Vancouver has just passed their empty home tax. Any Okanagan resident who owns a condo in Vancouver, must pay a yearly 1% tax on its value. Even if it is occupied by themselves all through the year. This makes us second class citizens, because Vancouver residents can buy up vacation places here without paying such a penalty. We have a low vacancy rate also!

[gman313]

*removed*

[vinnied]

And welcome to the forums

[pentona]

Vancouver has just passed their empty home tax. Any Okanagan resident who owns a condo in Vancouver, must pay a yearly 1% tax on its value. Even if it is occupied by themselves all through the year. This makes us second class citizens, because Vancouver residents can buy up vacation places here without paying such a penalty. We have a low vacancy rate also!

How can it be subject to an empty home tax if an Okanagan resident owns it and is occupying it all through the year, as you just stated above?
Something doesn't add up there. If its VACANT more than half the year, then yes, its subject to the 1% tax. We know that.

[GordonH]

City of Vancouver news release link:
http://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/vanco ... upply.aspx

[the truth]

And welcome to the forums

lol

[kgcayenne]

If an individual can afford a second home in---of all the most highly-priced places---Vancouver, then that person should be able to pay that tax.

[MylesP]

In early consultations, Vancouver said that if you were there 6 months of the year, that would be okay. Then when they released the bylaw, they said that would be too expensive to monitor and it was not okay. The bylaw now says if it is not your primary residence, you must be engaged in full time work there for six months or rent it for six months of the year. TV news has mostly has got it wrong. You must read the bylaw. Many people need two places for business or personal reasons. They are not all rich!

[W105]

this is what happens when you use shelter/homes as commodities...

I think this a good thing, and it would have never happened if our government didn't allow "investors" to wash their money here...

shelter... whether you own or rent is an essential human need...(in Canada)

this new vacancy tax didn't make Canadians 2nd class citizens..it's actually preventing us from doing so...

[Ken7]

Vancouver has just passed their empty home tax. Any Okanagan resident who owns a condo in Vancouver, must pay a yearly 1% tax on its value. Even if it is occupied by themselves all through the year. This makes us second class citizens, because Vancouver residents can buy up vacation places here without paying such a penalty. We have a low vacancy rate also!

IF you live in the condo all year round, how does that make you anything more then a Vancouver resident? I'm missing it. Now if you own a condo and do not live there maybe I see your point...but how could Vancouver prove it, if you live there 6 months of the year and Hawaii the other? Put your drivers license address on the condo. Now that's your primary residence.

[GenesisGT]

From my interpretation of this tax it really looks like another government scam, that will increase the size of government, give local government access to ones personnel information and not generate any revenue for programs that Robertson used to sell the program on.

Original statements made said the program would create significant administration/enforcement costs if run by the city, the program being proposed will be run by the city. Also funds would be used for affordable housing projects. Now they are saying "some money left over for affordable housing". What a joke, government bureaucracy costs will eat up any revenues collected. Any government estimate on how much a program costs can usually be doubled to get a more accurate estimate.

And worst one may have to surrender their medical card to some city bureaucrat to prove that you are a citizen of BC and live here.

I would have a privacy concern if I had to do that. And now we know why smart meters were installed, the whole study is based on meta data from the meters, will this mean in the future the government at some level, will be reviewing individual power consumptions to see who uses power and when.

Robertson said the tax proceeds would go toward funding affordable housing initiatives. He noted the second option would create significant additional administration and enforcement costs for the city.

It will cost $4.7 million through the end of 2018 to set up the tax, with an annual cost of $1.5 million after that. But the city expects tax revenue to cover the costs, with some money left over for affordable housing initiatives.

http://www.vancourier.com/news/city-says-it-will-implement-empty-home-tax-with-or-without-the-province-1.2285054#sthash.K4VKMDUc.dpuf

[Prestige Mike]

Vancouver has a vacancy rate of 0.6% and there are an estimated 11,000 homes that sit empty. This is putting crazy upward pressure on rent prices, as well making it difficult for people to find a place to live in the city.

According to CBC: "Self-reporting owners will be assessed a one per cent tax on homes that are not principal residences or aren't rented out for at least six months of the year. " To me, this means that if you are living in your Vancouver home all year long that would be your "principal residence" Or am I wrong?

Something needs to be done in Vancouver. This is one of many solutions that need to be implemented that will hopefully give relief to the renters in the city.

[MylesP]

The following comments are from Barbara Bulmer, one of the speakers at Vancouver Council Meeting. She has given permission for these to be widely published.

To tax/penalize occupied second homes on the fiction that they are “empty” amounts to expropriation without compensation. Many owners will be forced to sell, likely to someone who will use it as their principal residence it so it won’t be available to rent at all. The former owners will then have to rent something in Vancouver in which to live when they are not occupying their other B.C. residence. There are a hundred valid reasons why people want and need to live several months of the year in Vancouver: occasional work, family and marital issues, elder or grandchildren care, medical care, use of all the facilities only found in Vancouver, to name just a few. These people will be forced to rent other places in Vancouver, putting greater pressure on the available rentals.
The province recognizes that MLAs, whose principal residences are scattered throughout B.C., need a secondary residence to live in while they are in Victoria, and provide them with a stipend to rent or buy one. These MLAs do not work “full time” in Victoria, just as many people who need to be in Vancouver for work part of the time do not work here “full time”.
Being forced to sell involves realtor fees, moving expenses, taxes and many other costs, all of which is apparently to be borne by the owner with no compensation from the city. It is not as if the City is offering to buy the secondary residence at market value and compensate for the costs of moving.
The City has not factored in the costs of ownership in their public information bulletins. These cite a high potential rental income without mentioning or subtracting the equivalent costs of ownership, which are borne by the owner. Nor are the risks of non payment of rent, problem tenants, repair of damage and the work of being a landlord mentioned.
Seniors:
The needs and circumstances of seniors, between the ages of 65-90, have been missed. Many downsized and sold their Vancouver home, bought a principal residence in a less expensive area of B.C. and a small condo in Vancouver for their periodic and future use. The total value of these two is less than the value of a single home in Vancouver. It is prudent to plan for different needs as one gets older, becomes widowed, or requires more of the facilities of the City. Most seniors, especially single ones, live on pension income and lack the resources to pay an exorbitant tax/penalty.

[36Drew]

In early consultations, Vancouver said that if you were there 6 months of the year, that would be okay. Then when they released the bylaw, they said that would be too expensive to monitor and it was not okay. The bylaw now says if it is not your primary residence, you must be engaged in full time work there for six months or rent it for six months of the year. TV news has mostly has got it wrong. You must read the bylaw. Many people need two places for business or personal reasons. They are not all rich!

Then declare your home in Vancouver as your primary residence and your home in kelowna as your secondary. You get to save on your vancouver property taxes that way.

Also - Vancouver is a very small area down here. Go buy your condo in Burnaby or New West. It's only the city of Vancouver that has the 1% tax.

Or you can just rent when you need to come down here....

[kgcayenne]

Or you can just rent when you need to come down here....

LOL