Have you noticed the large number of new house sale listings in Vernon and Coldstream, around the lakes?
Could it be that the January 2025 start of the NDP policy of taxing holiday homes (Vernon and Coldstream now included) with a yearly 0.5 per cent speculation tax (2 per cent for non-Canadian owners) on the value of the property, is responsible for this surge?
A similar NDP soak the rich idea, drove company head offices out of B.C. in the 90s.
With so much housing inventory coming on line, we will presumably see new home construction slump here. You report the mills are on layoff.
Wonder why such obvious speculation areas close to Vancouver (such as Whistler and the Gulf Islands) are excluded from this tax? Perhaps the strong Green Party representation in those areas last election that the NDP hopes to recover?
Fairness should mean that this tax is applied province-wide, or scrapped.
Anthony Walter
Coldstream
