It’s become the norm this fall to attend news conferences announcing upcoming policy issues at council. There was yet another one Wednesday, where Mayor Gregor Robertson and staff outlined the details of the city’s proposed new empty-homes tax. My story here and the city’s report here.
The interesting part now is going to be who from the public shows up to comment on this. I’m told that more than one owner of a secondary home in Vancouver has contacted the city, complaining that the tax is unfair because they were lifelong residents, now retired out of Vancouver, but with a small place here so they can continue to visit grandchildren. Not the stereotype of the vacant condo that has been so prevalent.
At any rate, it’s unlikely the tax will be stopped now. Vancouver is in the cross-hairs, one of the special club of global cities trying to figure out what to do as the price of housing as escalated far past local wages. No one knows quite what to do (except possibly Germany, which maintains pretty tight control on the housing market and ensures that rentals are rock-solid secure) and everyone is trying something of everything.
We will play our part in the experiments.
3 responses so far ↓
1 penguinstorm // Nov 14, 2016 at 7:48 pm
Well, the tax already contains an exemption for “Snowbirds” which I would LOVE someone from Vision to both 1) Define, and 2) Explain
The reason you’re away for six months doesn’t matter: your vacant home is contributing to the problem as much as your neighbour’s vacant home.
If the point of the law is to address vacant housing, then do that. If the point of the law it to favour people who are likely to vote or Vision Vancouver, then write a law that clearly does that.
I can’t see any way that this thing isn’t killed in a court challenge in its current form.
2 IanS // Nov 15, 2016 at 9:43 am
What kind of court challenge do you envisage?
3 francesbula // Nov 15, 2016 at 3:33 pm
I too have been wondering how this is going to work. I know of families from, e.g. Taiwan, who spend half the year there and half the year in Vancouver. Then there are people who grew up here and spend half the year here, half the year elsewhere. Will one be charged the tax and the other not?