Nova Scotia scales back non resident property tax after criticism it was ‘unfair’
Global News
Houston's government introduced the tax as a way to encourage non-residents to sell their properties to locals, but the measure drew fire from dozens of owners.
The Nova Scotia government is revising a contentious non-resident property tax that was adopted last month as a way to ease the province’s housing crunch.
In a news release, Premier Tim Houston says the non-resident owners of properties such as small cottages will be exempted from the tax on the first $150,000 of the home’s municipal assessment.
The premier says a 0.5 per cent tax will apply on the tranche of value between $150,000 and $250,000, adding that the tax will rise to two per cent of a property’s value above $250,000.
Houston says active members of the Canadian Armed Forces will be exempt from paying the annual tax, as part of changes included in regulations to be released this spring.
The non-resident tax adopted last month in the recent provincial budget required non-resident property owners to pay $2 per $100 of assessed value of their residential properties.
Houston’s government introduced the tax as a way to encourage non-residents to sell their properties to locals, but the measure drew fire from dozens of owners who testified in public hearings held last month that it was “unfair and discriminatory.”
A second tax, also included in the budget, forces non-residents who buy property and do not move to the province within six months of the closing date to pay a transfer tax of five per cent of the property’s value.
Houston said that although Nova Scotia “loves our seasonal residents,” the intent of the tax is to assist people who live in the province year-round and can’t afford a place to live.