Article content One has to question the wisdom of a political party proposing to grant a 40 per cent stake (to be repaid later) for purchasers of homes. As a past-president of the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board, I think this approach is counterproductive to reducing housing costs. The cost of housing is already unsustainable, as is ever-increasing real estate taxation.
David Eby’s proposal to build and finance middle-income British Columbians’ first home is a recipe for disaster. As with any question or issue the NDP confronts, the answer is: create a bureaucracy and increase public sector employment, all of which costs taxpayers money, reduces efficiency and damages our economy. I have heard no discussion whatsoever of reducing the cost of buying a home by axing the property purchase tax.
This tax is exorbitant and strains the ability of the middle and lower income classes to purchase a home. I’m an 80-year-old woman who owns a two-bedroom condo in Vancouver with a market value of about $850,000. I would like to sell it and move over to Vancouver Island into a similarly priced home, but the property purchase tax makes this transaction impossibly expensive.
Now I have the luxury of staying put with a comfortable roof over my head, but my heart breaks for anyone trying to get into the housing market. Politicians, instead of promising future income tax reductions, should consider axing the property purchase tax instead. Andrew Weaver makes some very good points.