Ontario Hits Foreign Homebuyers With 20% Tax as Election Nears
- ‘Speculation tax’ aimed at keeping non-residents out of market
- Prices in some small cities have jumped over 80% in two years
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Ontario is raising a tax on home purchases by some foreigners to 20% and making it harder to avoid as it tries to cool a scorching real estate market.
The so-called speculation tax will apply to homes bought anywhere in the Canadian province by foreign nationals and foreign companies, provincial Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said in a statement Tuesday. Currently, the tax is 15% and applies only to homes in Toronto and surrounding areas.