Quote:
Originally Posted by 4444
Talking about interest rates being increased in benign, as they are a factor of the greater economy (and in Canada, the US).
Here's how to make life more enjoyable for the average Canadian:
1) Lower income taxes on earned income
2) Heavily raise taxes on real estate. All real estate
3) Increase the filing burden and regulations regarding non-resident ownership of real estate, including the requirement to file taxes on income (i.e. capital gain on property) and if you don't (non-residents don't have to file returns), withhold 25% of proceeds. No one in their right mind wouldn't file.
3a) There would need to be a proof mechanism for earned income in Canada to apply the principal residence exemption (i.e. you can't buy a $30M house for a student and get any future gains tax free).
3b) Airbnb over a certain level would be treated as a business, eliminating the utilization of many condos with strata for this, as well as demanding some level of business tax on the property
3c) limit the principal residence exemption to some amount, similar to the US system (you defer gains to a point or on properties of a certain value)
4) Potentially increase sales taxes
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1. Most people will probably support this.
2. Well-intended, but many Canadians have legitimate reasons for buying and selling property. Not everyone buys a home and plans to stay in it for 10+ years. Buyers already pay taxes on purchases - GST (new builds) and the PPT. Should they pay more? What about people wanting to get into the market today for legitimate reasons?
3. I'm not sure what this would accomplish other than making accountants happier. This would largely be just another "cost of doing business" for offshore investors and speculators.
3a. This would require collecting data which the province is now committed to doing. The feds don't collect this data on their own.
3b. I don't think anyone knows what to do with AirBNB. It's successful because it operates in a grey area that is difficult to enforce. You can have neighbours ratting each other out, I suppose.
3c. When single family homes are over a million dollars, what is a reasonable limit to this exemption?
4. Sales taxes should have been raised a long time ago.
IMHO, none of these measures will have an immediate and drastic effect on the real estate market. This is what people seem to want.