Foreign Real Estate Buyers in Vancouver Facing New Tax

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
The Man Who Pioneered the Knee Replacement | Dr. E. Marlowe Goble
About Dr. E. Marlowe Goble Dr. Goble has over 30 years of experience as an orthopedic surgeon and has performed over 14,000 surgeries over the course of his career. innovator and entrepreneur. He has co-founded five companies, of which three have been acquired. He has brought a number of innovations from concept to the…
Parachut The Netflix of Camera Gear | Melissa Nui
About Melissa Nui Melissa started her career working for the Seattle Seahawks in broadcast journalism. She ultimately decided to leave the industry and became a mother of three. In 2016 she and her husband Philip ventured out to start their own company, Parachut, a camera gear subscription service that has taken the industry by…
The Business of Banking | Steve Tessler
About Steve Tessler Stephen Tessler, a resident of Oakland; has served as an Executive Vice President and Director of Sales of the Bank since 2007. Previously, Mr. Tessler served as a Manager of Business Development and Marketing for Diablo Valley Bank. Mr. Tessler has a degree from San Jose State & Golden Gate University.…
The Tech Museum of Innovation | Tim Ritchie
About Tim Ritchie Tim Ritchie has transformed The Tech Museum of Innovation into a vital community resource that excites and engages people of all ages with programs that help them discover their own problem-solving power. Under Ritchie’s leadership, The Tech has developed new partnerships with schools, created new teacher training programs, and increased its…