The majority of British Columbians support the province’s 15 per cent tax on foreign homebuyers, but whether they believe it will make ownership much more affordable is another story.
That’s according to a new poll by Insights West, which found 76 per cent of people supported the government’s steep new tax on residential real estate purchases in Metro Vancouver.
Only 17 per cent of respondents opposed the tax, while seven per cent said they were undecided.
But the same poll found fewer than a quarter of people believed the tax will be “very successful” or even “somewhat successful” in making it easier for locals to afford a home.
By comparison, 35 per cent told Insights West it will be “not too successful” and 33 per said the tax will be “not successful at all.” Another six per cent said they weren’t sure.
“While British Columbians of all political stripes are in favour of the foreign buyer tax, they are also unified in doubting its efficacy,” pollster Mario Canseco said in a release.
Nearly three-quarters of those polled also expressed little or no confidence in the BC Liberals’ promise to invest the revenue from the tax into affordable housing projects.
That includes 67 per cent of people who voted for the party in the last election.
“The promise of revenue going into a special housing fund to be spent on affordability projects is currently unconvincing, even for the government’s supporters,” Canseco said.
When the BC Liberals announced the tax on July 25, they said it would help ensure home ownership remains within reach of the middle class.
But Finance Minister Mike de Jong said the government’s main strategy for tackling affordability issues would still be pushing to increase supply.
The province also gave itself the power to hike the tax up to 20 per cent, should it prove to have little effect.
“As we track the impact this has on the market, the government has that level of discretionary authority to adjust the amount,” de Jong said at the time.
The online survey was conducted from Aug. 19 to 23 among a representative sample of B.C. adults. Polls of this size have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
