The NDP government is rolling out the speculation tax to target homeowners who leave their property vacant.
The plan requires homeowners in major urban centres to fill out annual applications to prove that their properties are filled for at least 6 moths a year, otherwise they will get hit with the speculation vacancy tax.
Most of the CRD is subject to the tax, but some smaller communities will be exempt, including the Juan de Fuca electoral area, Salt Spring Island, and the Southern Gulf Islands.
BC Liberal Finance co-critic and MLA for Prince George-Valemount, Shirley Bond, says this is an unfair tax, making people prove they are innocent of speculation.
"This targets British Columbians and the fact that all residential property owners, if you live in Nanaimo, or West Kelowna, or Chiliwack, every single property owner now has to complete an annual, not once, but an annual declaration, basically to prove that they are not speculators. I think that people had no idea that was going to be the process that they were going to undergo."
She says that legitimate speculators need to be dealt with, but having people prove themselves innocent every year is not the way to weed them out.
The first wave of taxes to hit BC will be a retroactive tax for 2018. Bond believes British Columbians will be caught off guard, as many may not have been aware of the rules, leaving their properties unfilled for longer than the allowed time.
Bond adds this tax is going to hurt BC's housing supply, saying there is less incentive to build new houses if there's a risk of being taxed.
The retroactive tax for 2018 will be 0.5% of the properties value. And in 2019 it will be 0.5% for Canadian citizens, and 2% for foreign buyers.
The Ministry of Finance is sending out letters to residents in the coming weeks, outlining the fees and exemption application processes.
Exemption applications are due by March 31st.