The Editor,
Re. "Realtors want Property Transfer Tax bite eased" (The Tri-City News, May 3).
Housing is unaffordable in the Lower Mainland partly because of the property transfer tax paid by buyers. But the provincial government is addicted to the almost $1 billion it reaps.
Is there a way to lower the cost to first-time buyers, to protect the retirement nest-eggs for seniors and maintain a source of revenue for government?
I suggest that a capital gains tax on all real estate transactions should be on a sliding scale declining with the number of years that a property has been owned. It would be paid by the vendor.
The new tax might start at, say, 80% on the net appreciation on flipped properties. The government would reap the lion's share of windfall profits on flips from rezonings.
The tax might decline by 4% for each year a property has been owned by the vendor. After 20 years, the capital gains tax would be zero.
This new tax would make home prices more affordable by dampening speculation.
The revenue to the provincial government might be partially allocated to build more social housing, co-op housing and geared-to-income rental housing, which would further moderate the cost of housing.
D.B. Wilson, Port Moody
