Whereas the BC government implemented a BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax to turn vacant homes into housing for BC residents; And whereas the BC government continues to expand the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax program to include new communities: Therefore be it resolved that the UBCM advocate to the provincial government that all BC communities, including electoral areas, be given the option to opt-in to the BC Speculation and Vacancy Tax program.
Ministry of Finance The Speculation and Vacancy Tax SVT was introduced as part of BCs 30-point housing plan in November 2018. The SVT is designed to prevent housing speculation and help turn vacant and underused properties into homes for people who live and work in BC. The Province initially applied the SVT to urban centres with low vacancy rates and affordability challenges, where house prices and rents exceeded local incomes. Rather than providing all BC communities with the ability to opt in to the SVT, an independent review released in 2022 recommended a phased and measured approach to expanding the SVT. BC added six new municipalities as SVT specified areas in 2023, and 13 in 2024, for a total of 59 province-wide. To select expansion communities, the Province considered a number of factors, including assessed values of residential property, vacancy rates, population, requests for inclusion, proximity to other SVT specified areas, and whether the community is primarily a vacation area. The Province also considered input from local governments. Any changes to the SVT at the provincial level must consider taxation at other levels of government, such as the federal governments implementation of the Underused Housing Tax in 2022 and a foreign ownership ban in 2023, effective until January 1, 2027. The Province is carefully monitoring housing data moving forward to ensure the desired results of the SVT are achieved and will continue to work with local governments to address housing affordability issues in BC.