Canada finance minister announces new tax credit, savings account to make housing more affordable
Global News
The 2022 federal budget promised $1.5 billion in funding for the rapid housing initiative, which helps build homes quickly for vulnerable people.
Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced several measures aimed at making housing more affordable for young people in B.C. and across Canada on Wednesday.
Freeland made the announcements at the unveiling of a new modular housing project in Surrey, B.C., where she said “housing is a basic human need and we need to make sure everyone in Canada has a place to call home.”
The new project will contain 44 units and will be for women experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Freeland said the Canadian government is doubling the first-time home buyers’ tax credit to $10,000, which will apply to homes purchased on or after Jan. 1. The first-time home buyer incentive is also being extended to March 31, 2025, Freeland added.
In addition, a new tax-free first home savings account will allow first-time homebuyers to contribute up to $40,000 and withdrawals to purchase a first home would be non-taxable.
The government is also imposing a two-year ban on foreign capital coming into Canada to buy residential real estate, including making sure property flippers pay their fair share of taxes and working to bring forward a national plan to end blind bidding.
“We need housing that is affordable for everyone, and that means we have to take significant steps to ensure an entire generation of Canadians is not priced out of owning a home,” Freeland said.
“Budget 2022 represents the most ambitious plan that Canada has ever had to solve that fundamental challenge.”
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