Green MLA wants government to introduce vacancy tax on P.E.I.

A Green MLA wants government to introduce a vacancy tax on P.E.I. in an effort to create more housing options on the Island.

Michele Beaton said the Green Party first called on government to implement a vacancy tax last year and asked government for an update on its progress in the legislatureThursday.

Beaton told CBC News a vacancy tax would be applied to non-primary and non-seasonal residences. She said the tax would discourage people from speculation buying, or accumulating housing without people living in the properties. Shesaid a the taxcan serve as atool toensure secondary, non-seasonal residences on P.E.I. are used for housing.

"Which is important because given that we're in a housing crisis it's important that people are living in the housing inventory that we have currently," Beaton said.

She said the Opposition proposes that additional revenue earned from a vacancy tax be re-invested into affordable housing options for Islanders.

Beaton said a similar tax was introduced inBritish Columbia in late 2018.That province's speculation and vacancy taxtargets homes in the most populated areas of B.C. that are not declared as a primary residenceor arenot rented out for at least three months a year.

The tax was introducedto prevent housing speculation in B.C.'s overheated real estate market and help turn vacant or underutilized properties into rentals. Homeownerswho live attheir properties or rent them out areexempt.

During question period in the legislature, Beaton asked Finance Minister Darlene Compton for more details about what government has done on the issue here.

"Can the minister please advise the house on the progress of working toward implementing a vacancy tax?" Beaton asked.

'It's a complex story'

Compton said a vacancy tax is something she's been pushing for within government, but more work needs to be done to figure out how the tax could be implemented in the province.

"That is definitely something we've been looking at, we're not there yet," Compton said.

Compton said she wants to make sure that if and when the tax is introduced it's applied to properties appropriately and the department is working to determine what kind of properties a vacancy tax would apply to.

"It's a complex story as to who lives here and who doesn't and how long they live here so it's something that the tax department is looking at, property tax is looking atand will continue to do so."

Beaton said it's been a year since the idea was presented to government and she would have liked to have more details by now.

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