The non-resident speculation tax on residences bought by foreign nationals in Ontario will increase from 20% to 25% as of Tuesday, according to the province’s announcement.
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy says the move makes Ontario’s tax rate the highest in Canada and seeks to discourage foreign speculation.
The Progressive Conservative government previously increased the non-resident speculation tax from 15 per cent to 20 in March, and expanded it to cover the whole province, instead of just the Greater Golden Horseshoe area of southern Ontario.
As the government aims to build 1.5 million homes in the next ten years, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark will also submit a piece of housing legislation on Tuesday.
In a statement, Clark claims that increasing the tax is yet another step in Ontario’s housing crisis’ resolution.
The government’s previous housing bill was one to give the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa so-called strong mayor powers, that would allow the heads of those cities to veto council votes that conflict with building housing..
Ontario increasing the tax on foreign buyers of homes to 25%
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