Chinese Envoy Challenges Vancouver Home Tax as Fallout Spreads
- Consul General conveys qualms to British Columbia officials
- New data shows C$1.5 billion of condo pre-sales at risk
Realtor Lorne Goldman stands in the master bedroom of a home for sale listed at C$7.89 million in the Point Grey neighborhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Friday, June 17, 2016. Vancouver has long been one of the world's most expensive places to live but price gains have reached a whole new level of intensity this year. Low interest rates, rising immigration, and a surge of foreign money—particularly from China—have all driven the increases.
Photographer: Darryl Dyck/BloombergChina’s top envoy in British Columbia challenged the Canadian province’s new 15 percent tax on foreign home buyers, questioning the justification behind the hastily imposed measure.
"Why a 15 percent tax? Why now? Why this rate? What’s the purpose? Will it work?" Liu Fei, China’s consul general in Vancouver, said in an interview Thursday. "The issue is how to help young people afford housing," she added. "I’m not sure even a 50 percent tax would solve the problem."