安省新民主党的房屋投机税不是解决房价疯涨的办法

 

当你读这篇文章时，安省大选已经结束了。安省将会有新政府诞生。自由党在投票前5天认输，企图以此策略保住一些自由党席位，防止丢掉“正式党派”的地位。如果不是正式党派，自由党将没有资格在省议会答辩期间提问，以及丧生政治研究经费的拨款。

 

By the time you read this article, the Ontario Provincial election is over. Ontario will have a change in government. The Liberals conceded this election 5 days before voting, in an attempt to pick up more seats and prevent the losing of “Party status” which will result in lost of funding for research and questioning privileges during questioning periods in Parliamentary sessions.

如果新民主党赢得大选并组成多数政府，他们的许多蛮横政策将在未来几年内实施。这些政策包括尽快实施 “住房投机税”，以补充枯竭的财政收入。新民主党还声称，这是解决安省缺少“人们所能承受的房屋”的方案。

If the NDP won the election and forms a majority government, many of their bold and draconian policies will come into play during the next few years. The “Housing Speculation Tax” will be front and centre on their agenda, to be implemented immediately to bring in much needed revenues. The NDP also claims that this is the solution to make housing more affordable to Ontarians.

“住房投机税”将眼光盯在整个金马蹄铁一带的那些拥有第二栋房产的业主。这些业主都会被贴上“投机分子”的标签，每年可能再交数千元的地税。像卑诗省那样，一个安省新民主党政府将把按照每1,000元的政府的房屋评估价格收5元的投机税，提高到每1,000元收20元。以2017年多伦多住房的平均销售价格为735,021元为例，该政策全面实施后，政府每年在每栋房子上额外捞取的税收为14,700元。

The “Housing Speculation Tax” targets the owners of second properties throughout the Golden Horseshoe. They will all be labelled as “speculators” and could face thousands of dollars in new taxes every year. Like the B.C. tax proposal, the Ontario NDP plan to begin with an annual speculation tax of $5 per $1,000 of assessed value, rising to $20 per $1,000 of assessed value. Using the average selling price of a residential property in Toronto in 2017 ($735,021) as an example, the extra tax would be $14,700 annually once the tax is fully implemented.

 

这项新税收是在现有的非居民投机税（NRST）的基础上的新税。这两项税预计会在第一年会给安省带来高达6.71亿元的收入，并在新民主党任期内每年增加。

This new tax is an additional levy to the existing Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST), which would stay in place. Together, they will bring in a whopping $671 million in its first full year and increasing every year after that for the life of a first term of government.

新民主党已经认定“房屋投机和倒卖导致房价的疯涨”。 “房屋投机税”的收取对象将不局限于国外买家，它将针对那些不在安省缴税的外国和国内投机者。目前我们还不清楚国内投机者如何定义。这可能仅适用于居住在安省以外的加拿大人。这让我联想到那些不住在安省，但却给在安省上学的孩子购买房屋，而不是租屋的父母们。这些父母可能会受到这种税收的打击。

The NDP has determined that “Housing speculation and flipping are driving up housing prices”. The “Housing Speculation Tax” will not be limited to foreign buyers. It will be targeted toward foreign and domestic speculators who do not pay tax in Ontario.” Just exactly what this second group of “domestic speculators” entailed is not immediately clear to everyone. This may simply be applicable to Canadians who are living outside of Ontario. I can think of scenarios where parents living outside of Ontario buying a house or apartment for their children attending Ontario universities instead of renting a property. They may be negatively impacted by this tax.

 

目前，只有外国买家在安省购屋时将付一次性的15％的投机税（NRST）。此后的每年里，拥有第二栋房产的业主，不论你是外国还是国内的业主，都得继续交房屋投机税。新民主党希望避免重复卑诗省的类似税收所带来的问题。新民主党表示，新政策将不对家庭别墅收税，并且不会对房屋出租市场产生负面影响。他们保证：“新政策将不针对出租的房屋，只针对那些长期没人住的房屋。”

Currently, only foreign buyers are charged with a one-time 15% speculation tax (NRST) based on the value of the property in Ontario. The second annual speculation tax will apply to both foreign and domestic property owners.  The NDP wants to avoid the problems associated with similar taxes in the Province of British Columbia (B.C.). They state that their version of the tax does not apply to family cottages, and that it doesn’t negatively impact rental stock. They make assurances that: “It will not apply to homes or residences that are rented out, it would apply to properties that have been left vacant for a significant period of time.”

如果新民主党组成安省政府，他们将在增加“人们承受的起的住房”数量的口号伪装下，对房屋市场额外征税。只要仔细琢磨一下卑诗省的“房屋投机税”的做法，你可以发现，如果房屋“出租”，房东就可以免这些新税。我相信，那些地产律师们现在已经在钻“法律”的漏洞来抵制这些新税。

Under the disguise of creating affordable housing, a tax is imposed on the free market if the NDP forms the Ontario Government. When the B.C. Model of “Housing Speculation Tax” is examined, one can see that taxes can be exempted if the property is “rented out”. I am sure that B.C. lawyers are already exploring “legal” loopholes to combat this tax at this very moment.

 

如果保守党在6月7日赢得选举，所有这些政策都不会实行。 造成安省缺乏“人们能承担得起的住房”的原因很多，但 “住房投机税”不是解决方案。

If the PC won the election on June 7, then all of this scheme and taxing will come to past. The “affordable housing” problem has many causes. The “Housing Speculation Tax” is not one of the solutions.