Victoria city council will consider whether or not to implement a foreign property tax like Metro Vancouver has at tomorrow's city council meeting. Mayor Lisa Helps says she wants more information on the foreign buyer's tax but is ready to move forward with a "derelict" tax. "What I want to be able to do is tax the heck out of those properties that have sat vacant and derelict for years." Unlike what's going on in Vancouver, Mayor Helps says she's not interested in whether people actually live in the properties as much as she wants to ensure there is an incentive to develop these properties to help ease the city's low vacancy rate.
Councilor Ben Isitt says the number of foreign property purchases has climbed sharply in Victoria and the two taxes will help level the playing field between Metro Vancouver and the Capital Regional District