Vancouver hiking empty homes tax to 5% of assessed value in 2023
BNN Bloomberg
Vancouver is raising the empty homes tax that is designed to ease vacancy rates in the city, from three per cent to five per cent of the property's value.
Vancouver is raising the empty homes tax that is designed to ease vacancy rates in the city, from three per cent to five per cent of the property's value.
The motion by Mayor Kennedy Stewart to hike the tax in 2023 received unanimous backing from city councillors on Wednesday.
Stewart said boosting the tax is a "big blow to housing speculators."
"I think we have actually a chance of ending speculation by taking it to five per cent," he said in an interview Thursday. "Municipal governments have limited tools and this is one that we know is working."
The tax hike means that the owner of a vacant home worth $1.36 million, which is the benchmark price for all housing types in Metro Vancouver, would face an annual tax bill of $68,000.
"That's a big chunk of cash when you think about it. That's how serious we are about this," Stewart said. "The ultimate goal would be that we don't collect any fees, that either all the homes are filled or they're being sold. The goal is to maximize the productivity of our housing stock."
