5833 replies to this topic

[tjv]

Guess I better talk to my tax lawyer since I have more than 1.25 acres

[lanforod]

Guess I better talk to my tax lawyer since I have more than 1.25 acres

 

I'm happy to take over title on the excess over 1.25 acres. 

[Szeven]

Guess I better talk to my tax lawyer since I have more than 1.25 acres

As do thousands of others who have never been taxed on "excess property". I wonder where that quote is from and what the context it. Maybe for people who buy an acreage for development and live on it for a year to try to skirt millions in taxes?

[nerka]

Guess I better talk to my tax lawyer since I have more than 1.25 acres

 

I think "may" is the key word there. Also many acreages are not in fact subdividable without a change in zoning.

 

Here's an article on it:

https://www.moneysen...ence-tax-rules/

 

And here is the official CRA take on it:

https://www.canada.c...-residence.html

 

In theory the new reporting is going to make it easier to tax people for excess land, though frankly the CRA would be better to chase down people who are completely abusing the PRE.

[Szeven]

Not sure where to put this but I find it interesting that the Toronto Real Estate Board is expecting home sales to increase this year from last year. That does not seem to be the evidence so far or the predictions of others.

 

"Home sales in the Toronto region will start to climb again in 2019 after two years of declining, but Ottawa should nonetheless rethink a tough new mortgage rule that is a drag on the market, the Toronto Real Estate Board said on Wednesday.

TREB, which represents real estate agents in the Greater Toronto Area, predicts 83,000 homes will sell in the region in 2019, a 7.3-per-cent increase from 77,375 in 2018. That would be a turnaround from 2018, when total home sales fell 16.1 per cent in the GTA after an 18.3-per-cent sales decline in 2017.

The association predicts the average selling price for a home in the GTA will climb to $820,000 this year, up 4.2 per cent from $787,195 last year. The average is for all home types, including condominiums and detached houses.

"

https://www.theglobe...es-need-review/

Edited by Szeven, 06 February 2019 - 03:35 PM.

[Mike K.]

There's pressure mounting to kill the stress test.

[LeoVictoria]

Pressure from the real estate and mortgage industry.  OSFI and CMHC are having none of it

[Mike K.]

They’re having none of it because it’s an election year.

[tjv]

There's pressure mounting to kill the stress test.

I am sure there is, just like a lot of homeowners EXPECT mortgage rates to start falling

[Mike K.]

They just did.

[tjv]

Yah a tiny fraction. So you are saying you expect the BOC to lower rates over this year? Funny!

[Mike K.]

I didn’t say that, but Canada’s economy is not exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment.

[LeoVictoria]

They’re having none of it because it’s an election year.

they’re having none of it because the point of the regulatory changes was to protect borrowers and the banking system. When you stop people from buying that is not something that they are generally happy about.
The industry of course is freaking out because it is impacting their income stream

[Mike K.]

The entire economy’s income stream is impacted when housing is impacted, save for government and taxpayer subsidized employment.

[VIResident]

There's pressure mounting to kill the stress test.

You are correct Mike K. lots of pressure and for good reason, start here:

 

A BIG issue with this policy - those who are up for renewal, the very group that has the lowest default rate. 

Generally if one is simply renewing the lender will simply renew - no stress test etc.  BUT the homeowner who wants to shop around for a better deal, they will have to go through the stress test - again, the single group that has the lowest default rate. 

This policy nails retired seniors pretty hard too.  Today's Globe and Mail - 

 

"The stress test effectively strands renewing customers with their lender, even though switching lenders lowers the risk of default."

https://www.theglobe...tgage-switches/

[VIResident]

The entire economy’s income stream is impacted when housing is impacted, save for government and taxpayer subsidized employment.

You note "save for government"

The property transfer tax, in the past, has done very well for government coffers.  With Vancouver sales in the month of January at a record low, 40%, and should it continue, this will hit those gov coffers hard.  

Edited by VIResident, 07 February 2019 - 05:21 AM.

[VIResident]

Municipal, Provincial and Fed. policies around homeownership were not stress tested before deployment and the consequences are coming home to roost - and they said they want people to be housed yet make it as difficult as possible to buy one.   In the past 2 years:

 

Rental, including vacation home restrictions, secondary home tax, stress test, removal of 30 year mortgages, higher efficiency building requirements - increasing cost, municipal spending out-of-control thereby increasing property taxes.

 

I'm certain I'm missing a few more.

Edited by VIResident, 07 February 2019 - 05:28 AM.

[Mike K.]

Oh, absolutely there will be less revenue, but the government has new taxes to stave off the downfall in the name of the spec tax and the litany of foreign buyer taxes. Government coffers in this province never suffer ...for long.

The banks are absolutely overjoyed with the stress test for the reasons you point out. It’s like being a telecom customer, only with your mortgage. Confining consumers to expensive services and creating roadblocks to impede competition is a Canadian tradition under a Liberal government.

And Netflix is their latest target. It and other non-Canadian streaming services are now being cited as cultural imperialists. I kid you not. What’s the solution to cultural imperialism? A tax, of course.

[tjv]

I didn’t say that, but Canada’s economy is not exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment.

No its not, but with the US rate 0.75 more than ours you can expect a solid increase in interest rates this year, I am guessing another 0.75% to 1%.  Anyone who expects interest rates to fall is living in la la land and a lot of people I've talked to some how think that's going to happen.  A little blip because of falling bond rates doesn't mean falling rates overall

Edited by tjv, 07 February 2019 - 06:12 AM.

[Mike K.]

The US rate has no bearing on Canada's rate, and vice-versa. The US economy is roaring compared to Canada's, and our dollar continues to slide against the USD.

 

Merrill Lynch downgraded the Bank of Montreal today. We're headed for a cooling off and rates are staying put.