Feb. 3rd 2018 BC Liberal leadership race megathread

[Cynthia]

I want Watts, who's actually competent
But seriously how's the vote going now

[Cynthia]

Mileslunn who do you believe would be the most electable of the six. If I had to guess I would say Lee do to his more centrist positions. I wonder if Watts might alienate some of the federal liberals that have voted  BC Liberal in the past because of her connections to the Conservative party. De Jong is very experienced but may be too close to the past BC Liberal government.

As a BC resident who voted for NDP last time I'd happily vote for one of Lee, Stone, or Watts.

[Cynthia]

I'm probably going to vote libertarian in the next provincial

I hate all of them, Wilkinson, Horgan, or Weaver

[Cynthia]

I'm probably going to vote libertarian in the next provincial

I hate all of them, Wilkinson, Horgan, or Weaver

nihilist!

I'm just really not fond of the empty house tax thing, and for that reason it's at least 95% likely I vote Liberal or not vote at all

Like I can't keep a house that I owned for 10 years just because I moved abroad for work?

Edit: it's not actually empty (fully rented out except two rooms and my family live there around 3 months of the year), but from my understanding of the proposed plan I would still be taxed at 2%. I'm not opposed to raising taxes; for example, if BC gov't increase my property taxes by 100% and use that money to fund affordable housing, I have zero problem with it; I am COMPLETELY not opposed to taxing vacant propertiesbut 2% estimated value tax on houses that are fully rented out seems ridiculous IMO.

All my rents are below market and I have never raised rent for the past 5 years.

[Cynthia]

I'm probably going to vote libertarian in the next provincial

I hate all of them, Wilkinson, Horgan, or Weaver

nihilist!

I'm just really not fond of the empty house tax thing, and for that reason it's at least 95% likely I vote Liberal or not vote at all

Like I can't keep a house that I owned for 10 years just because I moved abroad for work?

You can keep it. You just either have to rent it out or pay a tax on it.  I don't think that is too onerous, especially since you can hire a property management company to take care of the rental part.

For instance: http://www.easyrent.ca/

It is rented out, but unfortunately they would tax rented out properties as well.

[Cynthia]

I'm probably going to vote libertarian in the next provincial

I hate all of them, Wilkinson, Horgan, or Weaver

nihilist!

Like I can't keep a house that I owned for 10 years just because I moved abroad for work?

That's not an accurate representation of the EHT, but yeah, you absolutely should not be able to "keep a house" you're not living in for an extended period of time, at least in an ideal world. Empty homes shouldn't exist as long as people without homes do too.

It's fully rented out, which they would also tax under their proposed plan.

[Cynthia]

I'm probably going to vote libertarian in the next provincial

I hate all of them, Wilkinson, Horgan, or Weaver

nihilist!

I'm just really not fond of the empty house tax thing, and for that reason it's at least 95% likely I vote Liberal or not vote at all

Like I can't keep a house that I owned for 10 years just because I moved abroad for work?

This is a hilariously out-of-touch post.

I completely understand how ridiculous that post was, but the problem is it's not empty

[Cynthia]

Vancouver is dealing with a huge housing shortage due to foreign ownership, and is pricing out middle and work class residents. How would you deal with the situation?

My take is if you can afford to homes, you can afford to pay the tax. If you can't pay the tax, then maybe you shouldn't be owning two homes. There are thousands of BCians who actually contribute to the local economy by living there that deserve it way more.

I only own this home and intend to return to that home when I complete whatever I have to do abroad

[Cynthia]

I'm probably going to vote libertarian in the next provincial

I hate all of them, Wilkinson, Horgan, or Weaver

nihilist!

Like I can't keep a house that I owned for 10 years just because I moved abroad for work?

That's not an accurate representation of the EHT, but yeah, you absolutely should not be able to "keep a house" you're not living in for an extended period of time, at least in an ideal world. Empty homes shouldn't exist as long as people without homes do too.

It's fully rented out, which they would also tax under their proposed plan.

On the one hand, I assume you know your situation better that I do.  On the other hand, what you write here makes no sense to me.

http://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/will-your-home-be-taxed.aspx

Properties not subject to the tax
Most properties will not be subject to the Empty Homes Tax, including those:

Used as a principal residence by the owner, his/her family member or friend, or other permitted occupier for at least six months of the current year
Rented for at least six months of the current year, in periods of 30 or more consecutive days
Meeting the criteria for one of the exemptions

Ok, I clearly misunderstood the original principle. Now I support this tax.