Foreign Real Estate Buyers in Vancouver Facing New Tax

vancouver

 

It’s no secret that many wealthy individuals own multiple homes, including vacation homes in foreign countries. In an effort to capitalize on this popular trend amongst the wealthy, many countries and/or cities have created new taxes aimed specifically at wealthy real estate buyers from foreign countries. Among the latest locations to enact a new tax on wealth property buyers is Vancouver, BC in Canada.

According to recent reports, the housing market has seen a huge shopping spree lately in the area as many wealthy foreign buyers, especially from China, have been snatching up homes at a fast pace. In fact, foreign buyers spent more than a billion dollars on homes and property in British Columbia between June 10 and July 14 of this year alone. With the increasing demand for property in BC, housing prices have soared almost 30 percent in the last year, which has left many local buyers unable to compete for these homes.

Therefore, in an effort to keep things fair, the British Columbian government has issued a new 15 percent tax, which will apply, to all “foreign nationals or foreign-controlled corporations” purchasing property in the metropolitan Vancouver area. BC is not the first place to issue such a tax. Australia and Singapore both recently raised the tax on foreign real estate buyers as well. The BC government said that anyone who attempts to avoid the new tax could face fines in the six figures and up to two years behind bars.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/26/wealthy-overseas-buyers-to-face-new-real-estate-tax-in-vancouver.html

Posted in

Deductible Business Expenses

Deductible Business Expenses Business expenses are the cost of carrying on a trade or business. These expenses are usually deductible if the business is operated to make a profit. What Can I Deduct? To be deductible, a business expense must be both ordinary and necessary. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted…

Setting Personal Goals at Home and at Work

Setting Personal Goals at Home and at Work

Should you be setting personal goals at home and at work? Do you find yourself drifting every now and then, going from day to day, just not achieving very much? If the answer’s yes, don’t worry!…you’re not unusual. But a lot of people do find it hard to get out the trap. They know they could…

federal government

Federal Government Takes in Record Tax Haul in 2014

Federal Government Takes in Record Tax Haul in 2014 Three trillion dollars is a lot of money. Just imagine what you could do with $3 trillion. The possibilities are practically limitless. Of course no one is worth $3 trillion, individually. However, the United States Federal Government recently reported that for the 2014 fiscal year it…

Do You Need to File a Federal Income Tax Return

Many people will file a 2013 Federal income tax return even though the income on the return was below the filing requirement. The questions below will help you determine if you need to file a Federal Income Tax return or if you need to stop your withholding so you will not have to file an…