Metro Vancouver might take on foreign buyer tax exemption

Foreign buyers are gaining a lot of attention in the Canadian real estate and more focus has being placed on them after the British Columbia Premier Christy Clark recently announced that foreign buyers who are resident in the country with work permits will be exempted from the tax.

On Wednesday, Mike de Jong expressed that paying back foreign buyers for the tax that was imposed on them last year by the British Columbia government is just one of the few amendments to be made on the existing tax.
The announcement of the tax is also a response to the refugees ban made by the U.S president Donald Trump aside the fact that several foreign buyers have pleaded against the tax stating they were already tax payers.
This new exemption only covers foreign buyers with work permits or buyers that had pay the tax that had recently purchased a property but gain permanent resident status or have work permits. But this decision is still under discussion.

He went on to add that the exemption is done on foreign buyers with residency status.
The foreign buyer tax according to de Jong came as a shock to many as the British Columbia government had been well known for accepting foreign buyers as being blameless for high home prices. But suggestions are being made to make the tax exemption cover all foreign buyers.

The foreign buyers’ tax had negative effect on people who lost their deposits or real estate transactions as the tax was imposed at a short period. De Jong expressed the government should consider the consequences of certain policies before implementing them.