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My name is not Elaine
I am very concerned about the B.C. government’s speculation tax requirement for my Social Insurance Number to be part of my request for an exemption.
Which part of B.C. privacy laws allow the government to require my SIN to become exempt from this tax?
How will the government protect my personal information and how are they using it? If it is being used for ID purposes, where is the database containing this information and exactly who has access to it? Are these provincial government employees or are they contracted staff?
What other alternatives are there to this demand? Surely, a homeowner’s long history of paying property taxes and claiming the B.C. Homeowner’s Grant must be stored somewhere in the government’s records.
I object to this whole speculation tax, as it appears to target a few homeowners by a blanket sweep vs. the government doing their due diligence. This is a very costly method to deal with a situation that is unfairly targeting only certain cities in our province.
This is a detriment to citizens’ long-term retirement plans. It will not alleviate the housing situation, as these owners utilize their homes on a varying basis, not just in summer or winter months, so renting out their homes would not be a housing solution option. Renters would have to be moving in and out on a continuing basis.
How does this resolve the housing crisis? Canadian citizens from other areas of Canada, who own secondary or additional residences in B.C. pay the property taxes, hire B.C. residents to maintain property etc., so they are supporting the local economy.
In my view, the housing crisis has evolved as single-family homes have become very expensive as developers target areas to densify and build multi-dweller buildings on previously single-family zoned properties. Single-family property owners then face vastly increased property values and taxation. Homeowners perhaps cannot afford to continue living in their homes or end up selling to the developers. It is a never ending cycle.
Catherine Comben, Kelowna
