B.C.’s proposed foreigner tax to help fund Metro Vancouver housing projects
VICTORIA — A new tax on foreign home buyers in Metro Vancouver is already being earmarked to fund B.C. government housing initiatives that will be announced in the coming months.
Housing Minister Rich Coleman and Finance Minister Mike de Jong say housing initiatives for renters, low-income earners and first-time buyers are set to roll out in the fall, months before an next election that is expected to feature housing as a major battleground.
Coleman says the government wants to offer builders, local governments and first-time buyers incentives to invest in property projects.
De Jong cited Burnaby’s Metrotown area where housing and commercial developments surround transit routes as an example of what the province wants to achieve in other neighbourhoods and cities.