Heddle Real Estate - Royal LePage State Realty Brokerage

By Shawna Connelly
Posted Monday, Apr 04, 2022 9:43 am

Ontario Hits Foreign Homebuyers With 20% Tax as Election Nears

(Bloomberg) -- 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.

The soaring cost of homes and rents has become a significant political issue in the province of about 15 million people, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford faces an election in June. In Toronto, the average sale price in February was C$1.3 million ($1 million), seasonally adjusted.

Since the pandemic started, even small cities and towns, far from Ontario’s major cities, have seen huge increases in...[READ MORE]

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