Lawsuit seeks class action to halt B.C.’s 15 per cent tax on foreign purchasers
VANCOUVER — Foreign home buyers forced to pay a new levy imposed by the British Columbia government are fighting for their money back and to have the fee declared invalid through a proposed class-action lawsuit.
Lawyer Luciana Brasil said the notice of civil claim alleges the provincial government acted outside its jurisdiction when the Property Transfer Tax Act was amended in July, targeting the nationality of home buyers across Metro Vancouver.
The legislation which took effect Aug. 2 forces foreign home buyers to pay an additional 15 per cent tax.
“The primary idea here is that the B.C. government identified what they thought was a concern and then in acting to rectify that they essentially chose the wrong way to go about it,” Brasil said in an interview Tuesday.