Big support for BC’s decision to bring in foreign buyers tax: poll
Posted July 29, 2016 7:35 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It appears a lot of people living in Metro Vancouver support the provincial government’s decision to bring in a 15 per cent foreign buyers tax, which was announced earlier this week. The tax goes into effect on August 2nd.
A new poll by Angus Reid finds nine-in-10 people across the region are giving it a thumbs up.
Pollster Shachi Kurl says there is huge support with another 87 per cent saying they would support it if local governments imposed an empty home tax, but there are still a lot of questions about whether these measures would be effective.
“There is a sense that these changes are quite overdue, that they are coming late and that they are only a step in the right direction.”
She adds there is also a number of people concerned that the tax can easily be evaded and people will be watching to see how the tax will be policed. “There is also a fairly significant sense that for those who want to find loopholes it will be evaded.”
Premier Christy Clark commented earlier this week that every real estate transaction will be audited and anyone who thinks they can get away with trying to cheat the system will be caught, however, she didn’t say what that would look like.
