The opposition’s idea of a “Strata Pre-Sale Contract Flipping Tax” is backed by two thirds of residents.
Vancouver, BC [June 5, 2018] – A sizeable majority of British Columbians are in favour of specific housing measures announced by the provincial government in this year’s budget, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative sample of British Columbians, three-in-five respondents (62%) think introducing a “speculation tax” of 2% of a property’s assessed value for vacant homes is a “very good” or “good” idea.
Two thirds of residents (67%) believe introducing a tax of 0.2 per cent on the value of homes worth between $3 million and $4 million, and a tax rate of 0.4 per cent on the portion of a home’s value that exceeds $4 million is also a “very good” or “good” idea.
A slightly higher proportion of British Columbians (69%) think increasing the property transfer tax from 3% to 5% for homes valued at more than $3 million is also a “very good” or “good” idea.
Three-in-four British Columbians (76%) say it was a “very good” or “good” idea to expand the foreign buyers tax to areas located outside of Metro Vancouver, and four-in-five (80%) feel the same way about increasing the foreign buyers tax from 15% to 20%.
The opposition BC Liberals have tabled the “Strata Pre-Sale Contract Flipping Tax Act 2018”, which calls for a provincial capital-gains tax on any profit from the sale of housing units before construction is completed. Almost two thirds of British Columbians (65%) think this is a “very good” or “good idea”.
Most residents who voted for the BC Liberals in last year’s provincial election are supportive of the current government’s measures, from a low of 53% for the “speculation tax” to a high of 77% for increasing the foreign buyers tax.
In addition, most residents who voted for the BC New Democratic Party (NDP) and the BC Green Party in the 2017 provincial ballot are in favour of the opposition’s pre-sale contract flipping proposal (62% and 73% respectively).
“In spite of some localized protests, the government’s housing measures are particularly popular with British Columbians,” says Mario Canseco, President at Research Co. “Support for these guidelines, as well as the recent proposal from the BC Liberals to address condo-flipping, is strong among all age groups and voters of the three main political parties.”
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from May 27 to May 29, 2018, among 800 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our full data set here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca