Mayor Malcolm Brodie is cold to the idea of taxing foreign home owners an additional tax on both technical and philosophical merits.
The question comes amidst complaints foreign speculation and foreign investment is driving up real estate costs in a region that's facing an affordable housing problem.
“My concern about issues around vacant properties and the speculation is it’s fine to say you want to regulate it, but how do you do that? I mean, what is a vacant property? So I think it’s a matter of definition and you don’t want to set up a whole bureaucracy that will just be avoided,” said Brodie, when asked by the Richmond News.
Presently, the City of Richmond is researching its own powers to tax foreign home ownership should council choose to act.
“I want to see what it looks like, how you would regulate it to see if it’s feasible,” said Brodie.
He said he has “hesitations” on implementing a flat tax on foreign purchasers.
Asked whether his hesitations are based on technical or philosophical merits. Brodie replied: “I don’t know if I would want to regulate the market in that way.”
