Falcon thinks Flipping tax unnecessary because “market has slowed down”

Reacting to the budget on Thursday, Kevin Falcon suggested the house flipping tax introduced in Budget 2024 isn’t necessary “because the market has slowed down considerably.” (CBC, Feb 23 2024)

Budget 2024 introduces a Flipping tax of 20% on the sale of homes owned for less than two years. It targets investors who play the market buying and selling property, driving up prices for everyone else.

BCUP MLA Mike Bernier has called the Flipping tax a “really scary thought.” BCUP finance critic Peter Milobar said after last year’s budget: “Now, it is a flipping miracle that there’s not a flipping tax added to this.”

Falcon also took the opportunity on Thursday to again trash the Speculation and Vacancy tax: “I kept pointing this out to [the NDP]. I said it’s actually a tax on people that own second properties.” (CBC, Feb 23 2024)

Falcon has opposed the Speculation and Vacancy tax since it was first introduced to curb out of control housing speculation in 2018, when he was still employed by one of British Columbia’s largest developers, Anthem Properties.

Since then, the Speculation tax has put 20,000 more homes on the market in Metro Vancouver alone.

Falcon also opposes Eby’s action to ban standalone short-term rentals.