1003 replies to this topic

[jdsony]

The issue I have with all taxes like this one is that the rich will always hire intelligent people to exploit the loopholes. They end up creating a false sense of security and then it still happens but goes unnoticed for decades. For those that can't afford to hire someone to look after their books, it just creates yet another annoyance in our already annoying lives.

[tjv]

It seems to be the only purpose of providing your email is to provide a confirmation that you have submitted.  I don't like providing it in general because I already get too many junk emails

 

As for SIN, you have to provide it otherwise your application is complete and I am not happy about providing it.  They have already send me a personalized letter with a couple of codes, they don't need my SIN to confirm my identity

 

frankly I think they deserve a bill of $25 for my time!  has anyone ever heard of any where else in north america you have to do this?  I think it was Mike who suggested they could easily do this when you pay your property taxes and add it to the homeowners grant.  Do they ask for my SIN and email for the homeowners grant?  Nope

[sebberry]

I'm going to phone Service Canada and ask what authority in this instance the BC Government has to demand the SIN.

[PraiseKek]

This part of Bill 45 is interesting to me :

(https://www.leg.bc.c...reading/gov45-3)

 

So basically the property tax branch can require a declaration at any time they please.

Declaration required on demand  

63  (1) On written demand given to an owner by the administrator, the owner must file with the administrator, on or before the date specified in the demand, a declaration for a calendar year in respect of an interest in a residential property.

(2) Subsection (1) applies whether or not a declaration has been or is required to be filed under section 62.

[tjv]

I'm going to phone Service Canada and ask what authority in this instance the BC Government has to demand the SIN.

I think there should be a law that requires all renters to gather their landlords SIN and report the payments to their landlord.  That law already exists with CRA for all companies in construction for contractors and subcontractors

[spanky123]

I think there should be a law that requires all renters to gather their landlords SIN and report the payments to their landlord.  That law already exists with CRA for all companies in construction for contractors and subcontractors

 

There is a CRA hotline that allows "tenants" (or anyone else for that matter) to squeal on their landlords (or anyone else for that matter). That is even more effective. 

[Mike K.]

Concerned that too many homeowners paid Vancouver’s empty home tax rather than chose to rent their property, the city now wants to raise the tax and claims they don’t want the tax to generate revenue but to create more rental homes.

The city is also looking into different rates for different owner groups, such as Canadians and foreigners.

Very, very, very few people who have a secondary home in BC and who have chosen to keep it vacant until they use it want to rent it out. This tax will once again hurt the little guy who bought himself a secondary home in the 90’s and has used it as a vacation rental, or used it regularly when his kid was at UBC, or whatever. He pays property taxes, he visits the city, spends money, etc. Now he’ll get dinged even more for having this home. So will he rent it out? Probably not, if that was never in the cards to begin with.

AirBnB was the only logical choice for many of these homeowners but that’s been taken away as the taxes rolled in.

Given the number of property owners that chose to pay the tax instead of renting their property, it is possible that the current tax rate is not enough of an incentive to rent.”

- https://vancouversun...-foreign-owners

[Nparker]

As of last Thursday, one of my neighbours still hadn't received his spec tax notice. Now he has to go chasing it down, in order to prove he is the owner-occupier of his condo. The province must have 20+ years of HOG information available to them on his unit. Why that couldn't have been used  to "ferret out" speculators is beyond me. This entire process is ludicrous.

[lanforod]

As of last Thursday, one of my neighbours still hadn't received his spec tax notice. Now he has to go chasing it down, in order to prove he is the owner-occupier of his condo. The province must have 20+ years of HOG information available to them on his unit. Why that couldn't have been used  to "ferret out" speculators is beyond me. This entire process is ludicrous.

 

I got mine on Thursday, all 4 letters for two owners of two properties at the same time. So your neighbour maybe needs to be a little more patient.

[Nparker]

...So your neighbour maybe needs to be a little more patient.

When it comes to the spec tax, no one should be patient; we should all be angry. 

[lanforod]

Well, yes; that's not what your post is about though. I'll continue to vote accordingly, and hopefully people remember stupid **** like this and do so as well.

[Nparker]

I suppose part of what bothers me the most is that this is a provincial tax with geographical boundaries. Does the province impose any other taxes to some regions and not others?

[rjag]

So, we are planning to travel for maybe up to a year starting Sept 2020 (coinciding with our daughters wedding in Eu in October that year). Looking at 3 months in Eu home for Christmas then 3 months in NZ/AU home for a month then 3-4 months back in Eu. Our house will be empty and we will not be living in it continuously for a 6 month period...does that make us a speculator and therefore subject to the tax?

[LeoVictoria]

So, we are planning to travel for maybe up to a year starting Sept 2020 (coinciding with our daughters wedding in Eu in October that year). Looking at 3 months in Eu home for Christmas then 3 months in NZ/AU home for a month then 3-4 months back in Eu. Our house will be empty and we will not be living in it continuously for a 6 month period...does that make us a speculator and therefore subject to the tax?

No. See the exemptions:
You likely fall under “Away from home for other reasons”
https://www2.gov.bc....and-vacancy-tax

[LeoVictoria]

I suppose part of what bothers me the most is that this is a provincial tax with geographical boundaries. Does the province impose any other taxes to some regions and not others?

Yes, Foreign buyers tax.

[Nparker]

Yes, Foreign buyers tax.

I guess I sort of lump that in with the spec tax. I was thinking more of non-property taxes that are only levied in certain geographic regions of the province.

[jonny]

Transit taxes on fuel?

[Nparker]

Transit taxes on fuel?

But does the province's portion of fuel tax vary? If it's levied by Translink or BC Transit, it's not really the Province of BC setting the tax policy. 

[PraiseKek]

So it looks to me like the spec tax is being administered through the TACS system at finance. Based on what I know of that system I sure hope they increased the privacy controls on data such as the SIN. I mean before pretty much every staff member could look at taxpayer data.

[Bob Fugger]

I suppose part of what bothers me the most is that this is a provincial tax with geographical boundaries. Does the province impose any other taxes to some regions and not others?

 

The MDRT attached to the Hotel Room Tax is geographically bound.