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
Mansion Ends Up Getting Owner in Hot Water for Tax Evasion
Is it possible to hide anything from the IRS? Even when you think you’re safe, it appears the IRS has an eye in the sky. That eye seems to be all reaching, at least in Pennsylvania. A wealthy real estate developer and CEO of Automated Health Systems owns a luxurious 32,400 square-foot mansion that apparently…
Why Are Your Property Taxes So Darn High?
While the majority of people pay the most attention to the taxes they see regularly, i.e. income and sales tax, there are other taxes that cost you a lot of money that you may tend to forget about. One of those taxes that cost a lot, but that kind of goes unnoticed is property tax.…
IRS Is a Lot More Open to Compromise These Days
It used to be that if you owed a large debt to the IRS you didn’t have a great chance of catching a break. Even though the IRS has always been able to compromise, at least a little, the tax agency has never been really eager to do so. Some people might not even be…
Could Buying a Rental Home Really Help Pay for College?
It’s back to school and for many that means school supplies and new clothes, but what about kids who are heading off to college? Their expenses are much greater than a few new outfits, pencils, paper and glue sticks. Besides the cost of tuition, most college students have to deal with the added expenses of…