26 October 2018 Canada: British Columbia introduces speculation and vacancy tax on empty residential homes On 16 October 2018, Bill 45, Budget Measures Implementation (Speculation and Vacancy Tax) Act, 2018 received its first reading in the British Columbia legislative assembly. If enacted, Bill 45 will introduce an annual speculation and vacancy tax (SVT), payable by owners of residential property in designated taxable regions of British Columbia. The SVT is effective beginning with the 2018 calendar year (i.e., the tax must be paid on a taxable property owned on 31 December 2018). The SVT, which will be imposed under the authority of the Speculation and Vacancy Tax Act (SVTA), is part of the "Homes for BC" plan, a 30-point plan intended to improve housing affordability in British Columbia, stabilize the housing market, prevent tax fraud, and improve security for renters. The SVT targets domestic and foreign speculators who own residential properties in the province but do not pay provincial taxes. Bill 44, Budget Measures Implementation (Employer Health Tax) Act, 2018 also received its first reading in the British Columbia legislative assembly on 16 October 2018. If enacted, Bill 44 would impose an employer health tax (EHT) or "payroll" tax on employers' payrolls commencing in the 2019 calendar year. Refer to EY Global Tax Alert, Canada: British Columbia introduces employer health tax legislation, dated 25 October 2018 for a summary of the proposed EHT. British Columbia (BC) is the first province in Canada to introduce a speculation tax on real estate investments. The intent of the SVT is to tackle speculation in the housing market in BC's major urban centers and encourage the conversion of empty properties into homes for BC residents. It is expected that the majority of the tax will come from foreign owners and satellite families (i.e., families having the majority [more than 50%] of their worldwide income not reported on a Canadian tax return) and that over 99% of British Columbians will not pay the SVT. All owners of residential property in designated BC areas (see BC taxable areas, below), including corporate owners, partnerships and trustees, must make an annual declaration in order to report their residential property and either claim an exemption from the SVT or pay the tax where applicable. In general, BC residents, excluding satellite families, should be entitled to claim the principal residence exemption on their residential property, so that no SVT is payable in respect of the property. However, where a residential property does not qualify for one of the available exemptions, the SVT is payable at rates ranging from 0.5% of the assessed value of the property for BC residents to 2% of the assessed value for satellite families and foreign owners. Furthermore, certain tax credits, discussed below, are available for BC owners, satellite families and other non-BC Canadian owners. SVT applies to residential properties located wholly or partly within the following areas in British Columbia:
The above areas are currently included in the definition of a specified area in the SVTA. The province may also prescribe other areas within BC as specified areas. An island that is within a specified area, but is only accessible by air or water, is not considered to be part of a taxable area. Reserve lands, treaty lands and lands of self-governing Indigenous nations are also excluded from the application of the SVT. SVT is levied on owners of taxable residential property located in a specified area who own the property on 31 December of each year (unless the owner qualifies for one of the available SVT exemptions, as discussed below). For the purposes of the SVTA, residential property generally means all residential property covered under property class "Class 1 – residential" as set out in the Prescribed Classes of Property Regulation to the Assessment Act (British Columbia). Buildings on farm land (other than farm outbuildings) are also considered residential property. BC residential property owners can claim an annual tax credit up to CA$2,0001 per property on secondary properties that are subject to SVT.
The credit cannot reduce the tax below the 0.5% rate applicable to BC owners. Unused credits can be carried forward up to two years or transferred to a spouse. Any SVP payable by an owner of residential property must be paid by 2 July of the following calendar year. Note that in the City of Vancouver, the 1% empty homes tax previously introduced by the municipality continues to apply, in addition to any SVT that may be payable in respect of same property. Certain exemptions from the SVT are available for individuals, corporations, partnerships and trustees. Corporations, partnerships and trustees may qualify for exemptions based on the residency status of the individuals who are corporate interest holders, beneficial owners and partnership interest holders. The main exemption from SVT that will apply to most residential property owners resident in British Columbia is the principal residence exemption. Under the SVTA, residence means any of the following: The term principal residence is defined in the SVTA to mean "the place in which an individual resides for a longer period in a calendar year than any other place." In the case of spouses who each have separate principal residences in a calendar year, the SVTA deems the couple to have only one principal residence, unless the couple's particular situation falls under the exclusions provided within the SVTA (e.g., medical, work or business purposes). In order to qualify for the principal residence exemption, an owner must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada (as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada)), a BC resident for Canadian income tax purposes and not part of a satellite family. Where the residential property is owned by a corporation, partnership or trust, but is the principal residence of an individual who is a corporate interest holder, beneficial owner or partnership interest holder, special rules will apply to determine whether the property will qualify for the principal residence exemption. A residential property may be eligible for exemption from the SVT if it is occupied by tenants for at least three months in 2018 (in increments of at least one month or longer) and at least six months (in increments of at least one month or longer) in 2019 and subsequent years. There are a number of specific conditions that must be met in order for an owner to be able to claim the rental exemption for a particular property. These conditions differ depending on whether the property is rented to an arm's length tenant (i.e., a business-only relationship) or a non-arm's length tenant. In the case of arm's-length tenants, owners should generally be eligible to claim the rental exemption provided the property is rented for the prescribed period, there is a written tenancy agreement in place in accordance with the Residential Tenancy Act, and the tenant resides at the property. In the case of non-arm's length tenants, owners who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada, except satellite families, should generally be eligible to claim the exemption if the property is the tenant's principal residence. In limited situations, foreign owners may be able to claim an exemption, but only if specific conditions relating to the tenant's residency and income earned in BC are satisfied. Additionally, special conditions must be satisfied where the rental property is owned by widely held owners, such as corporations listed on a designated stock exchange, real estate investment trusts, SIFT trusts and mutual funds. The SVTA includes numerous other exemptions from the application of SVT, which may be applicable under certain conditions. These exemptions include:
January – mid-February 2019 – Speculation and vacancy tax declaration letters for the 2018 tax year will be mailed to owners of residential property in BC taxable areas.
2 However, in a news release dated 18 October 2018, British Columbia announced it would introduce three amendments to the proposed SVTA, including a reduction to the tax rate for Canadian citizens and permanent residents who reside outside British Columbia from 1.0% to 0.5%.
Document ID: 2018-2141 |
