Sure, a detailed policy platform to solve the housing crisis is good. Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners CONTEST: Win Tickets to Vancouver Writers Fest Three lucky Tyee readers will each secure a pair of seats to a standard event of their choosing. CONTEST: Win Tickets to ‘Social Tango’ Two lucky Tyee readers will secure seats to catch the local energy of Argentinian dance in Vancouver.
But to sway voters at the ballot box? It doesn’t hurt to throw in a glittering goody. John Rustad’s BC Conservatives and David Eby’s New Democrats had already been teasing voters with gifts before the release of their platforms. Voters are used to this.
Take the tax-free home savings account , for example, offered by Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberals in the 2021 election. Sometimes renters get relief too, like the $400 rebate from former B.C.
premier John Horgan’s NDP. What are voters being offered this time around? Here’s what the duelling parties are promising, and for whom. The Conservatives present the ‘Rustad rebate’ The Conservative party calls it the “ Rustad rebate .
” It would allow renters and homeowners with mortgages to claim a portion of their housing costs as an exemption from incomes when it comes to paying provincial income taxes. It wouldn’t start until 2026 and would begin with an exemption of $1,500 per month, worth about $265 in annual savings for the average taxpayer, based on Rustad’s estimates. The exemption is intended .