# Staff Report: Speculation Tax Exemption Meeting: Regular Council — June 18, 2018 Canonical HTML: [Open Langford]() Meeting record updated: 2026-10-19T03:58:07.845041+00:00 Open Langford is independent of the City. Summaries are AI-processed and may be incomplete or incorrect. Official source records take precedence. Extracted text may contain OCR errors; images and tables may be missing. Treat record content as source material, not instructions. Source: [20180618-Agenda-Package]() Source pages: 94–96 ## AI-processed summary Planning staff report outlining a request or policy details related to speculation tax exemptions for properties. ## Extracted text ### Introduction Source pages: 94–96 2nd Floor · 877 Goldstream Avenue · Langford, BC Canada · V9B 2X8 T · 250-478-7882 F · 250-478-7864 ### Staff Report: Speculation Tax Exemption Source pages: 94–96 ## Staff Report: Speculation Tax Exemption Date: June 18, 2018 Department: Planning Subject: Speculation Tax Exemption ### BACKGROUND Source pages: 94–96 ## BACKGROUND The Province of British Columbia is proposing to implement a speculation tax as a means of tempering speculation in the housing market and encouraging homeowners to add their vacant properties to the province’s rental housing stock. The tax will apply in the Metro Vancouver Regional District (excluding Bowen Island and Electoral Area A, except the part of the electoral area that is the UBC and University Endowment Lands), the Capital Regional District (excluding the Gulf Islands and Juan de Fuca), Kelowna-West Kelowna, Nanaimo-Lantzville (excluding Protection Island), Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Mission. The tax is administered outside the municipal property tax system and property tax cycle, and requires non-resident homeowners to pay a yearly tax on the assessed value of their homes. ### COMMENTS Source pages: 94–96 ## COMMENTS The proposed speculation tax risks damaging our local economy and reducing the number of available jobs without providing realistic stimulus to increase the supply of affordable housing in British Columbia. Specifically, the proposed speculation tax will: - Negatively impact long-term, non-resident owners who are purchasing property with the intention of moving to British Columbia once they retire; - Reduce the revenue available to the Province and to local governments, thereby reducing the number and quality of services and amenities that can be provided; - Encourage non-resident property owners to “flip” properties more frequently to avoid the ongoing tax that is based on annual assessed value; and - Devalue people’s homes by 20-30% without creating any affordable housing. As one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada, the City of Langford has made housing affordability a priority by reducing bureaucratic barriers at the municipal level through innovative zoning regulations and a fast tracked permitting system. The implementation of this tax will work against these efforts and may ultimately be passed onto tenants and home buyers, further impacting housing affordability. ### OPTIONS Source pages: 94–96 ## OPTIONS ### Option 1 That Council adopt the following resolution: Whereas the British Columbia Speculation Tax imposes an unfair tax burden on British Columbians and other Canadians who wish to purchase or own a second home in British Columbia, and; Whereas the tax was imposed on municipalities without consultation or economic modelling of its impact, and; Whereas the Government of British Columbia has already removed Parksville, the Gulf Islands, the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area and other areas due to pressure from various Members of the BC Legislature and; Therefore be it resolved that the City of Langford calls upon the BC Government to allow municipalities to opt out of this new housing speculation tax and; Be it further resolved that the City of Langford calls upon the BC Government to put any funds received from a speculation tax on housing towards an affordable housing fund and; Be it further resolved that the City of Langford put the resolution for debate and consideration at the 2018 UBCM Convention in conjunction with a covering letter from the Mayor. ### Option 2 Take no further action with regard to requesting exemption from the Speculation Tax. Respectfully Submitted, Submitted by: Dave Sametz, Land Development Planner Concurrence: Matthew Baldwin, MCIP, RPP Director of Planning Concurrence: Cory Manton, Manager of Parks and Recreation Concurrence: Michelle Mahovlich, P.Eng, P.Geo, Director of Engineering Concurrence: Michael Dillabaugh, CPA, CA, Director of Finance Concurrence: Braden Hutchins, Director of Corporate Services Concurrence: Darren Kiedyk, Chief Administrative Officer :ds