Ontario Hopes Tax on Non-Canadians Buying Toronto Homes Will Temper Prices

Ontario Hopes Tax on Non-Canadians Buying Toronto Homes Will Temper Prices
By IAN AUSTENAPRIL 20, 2017
OTTAWA — In a bid to slow the soaring growth of housing prices in the Toronto area, Ontario officials announced several
measures on Thursday, including a 15 percent tax on residential buyers who are not residents or citizens of Canada.
While Ontario’s premier, Kathleen Wynne, emphasized the need for the 15 percent tax on outside purchasers, similar to one enacted
recently in Vancouver, British Columbia, there are no statistics on the number of Toronto houses that have gone to such buyers.
"There wasn’t one single thing we could do that would deal with the issues we’re confronting." Political pressure is escalating on Ms. Wynne
and the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to cool off the Toronto market.
On Thursday, the premier said that the high prices were not entirely a bad thing, calling the market boom "the unwanted consequence of a strong
economy." British Columbia’s experience does not provide clear evidence of the effectiveness of its 15 percent nonresident buyer’s tax.
Because not all of Ontario has experienced a major escalation in house prices, the new tax
and some other measures announced on Thursday will apply only to a portion of the province within commuting distance of Toronto.
Mindful of Toronto’s large immigrant community with its many house hunters, Ms. Wynne pointedly noted
that the new tax would not apply to people who make their home in Ontario.