The government said the changes, which are due to take effect on Wednesday, are part of its housing action plan. “Our government is working to increase supply and help keep costs low for Ontario families and home buyers, not for foreign speculators who want to make a quick profit,” Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a written statement. Tuesday. Bethlenfalvy said the lack of housing supply and rising costs have made home ownership inaccessible to too many families. He described the government’s nonprofit tax as “the most comprehensive” in Canada. The tax, first introduced in 2017, was previously set at 15 percent and applied only to homes bought by foreign nationals, foreign companies and tax administrators in the densely populated Greater Golden Horseshoe area of southern Ontario.
The NDP, the Greens had previously called for the move
Opposition New Democrats and Greens have both called for the housing tax to be extended to 20 percent. Also Tuesday, Ontario said it would eliminate “loopholes” in the discounts offered to some tax-affected residents. Foreign students enrolled in full-time study for at least two years after purchase and foreign nationals working full-time in Ontario for one year after purchase will no longer be eligible for discounts. Discounts and other exemptions for new Canadian residents will continue to be available, the county said, including an opportunity for foreign nationals studying and working in Ontario and becoming Canadian residents to apply for a discount. The province said it was focusing on “suitability for relief only for newcomers committed to rooting in the province in the long term”.
House prices have tripled in the last decade, according to a report
A press release on Tuesday said the province was considering other possible measures aimed at land speculation issues, such as slowing down construction “which could artificially raise prices for new homes”. He said the province is also working with municipalities to introduce a tax on vacant homes. The city of Toronto has already introduced such a tax and other municipalities are on the verge of doing so. The province said it intends to set up a working group with municipal representatives to share best practices on the idea. A recent report by a working group that looked at affordable housing in Ontario found that house prices in Ontario have tripled in the past decade, outpacing income growth. At the same time, the report found that the province has 1.2 million homes less than the G7 average, leading to problems with hiring and retaining workers due to homelessness.
