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Quarterly report shows hot real estate market lifts B.C. budget into billions

Sep 15, 2016 | 11:19 AM

VICTORIA — Finance Minister Mike de Jong is forecasting the provincial budget surplus for this year will be six times higher than originally estimated.

In his latest fiscal update, de Jong says higher revenues will help boost the surplus for 2016-17 to $1.9-billion — up from $264-million projected earlier.

De Jong says much of a $2.5-billion gain in revenue is coming from higher corporate income taxes and property transfer taxes — and the windfall will allow the government to cancel a planned four per cent increase in health care premiums that was scheduled for January 1.

He is also promising the government will use $500-million to announce new measures next week to boost housing affordability in addition to the 15 per cent foreign buyers tax aimed at cooling the Vancouver area’s scorching real estate market.