Do more to fight tax evasion: NDP
REAL ESTATE CRACKDOWN: Province says it already works with Canada Revenue Agency
VICTORIA — Ottawa is reviewing whether real estate speculators in B.C. are making millions without paying taxes, but critics say federal tax officials could do a better job cracking down on illegalities if the B.C. government provided more data.
National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier asked the Canada Revenue Agency Tuesday to look into the actions of real estate speculators in B.C. following a report in the Globe and Mail that outlined how some foreign investors allegedly profit in buying homes in B.C. while evading taxes.
The federal minister says she is concerned by the allegations that some wealthy Canadians are not paying their fair share of taxes.
Opposition NDP housing critic David Eby said the federal tax agency could catch more people if B.C. provided better on-the-ground help and information.
“The province is sitting on all the information, refusing to do the work and not compiling the information that would be useful for the CRA,” he said Tuesday.
Specifically, Eby said B.C. should use its land title database to flag people who buy multi-million-dollar homes without an apparent source of income, such as students and homemakers, for federal auditors.
“It’s very reasonable that the province could link up land title data and real estate data,” he said.
He also said the B.C. government should solve a staff shortage of auditors at the B.C. Financial Institutions Commission, as well as better staff internal government enforcement positions so that allegations of financial wrongdoing involving real estate could be properly passed to federal officials.
And he repeated the NDP’s calls for a task force of police, auditors and prosecutors to target money laundering and tax evasion in Metro Vancouver real estate.
B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong was unavailable for an interview Tuesday, but his office said the province already works with the Canada Revenue Agency to help with “lifestyle audits” that occur when someone makes a large purchase but reports a relatively low income to officials.
“The ministry has been providing the CRA with all of the information collected on property transfers for many years — including purchasers’ names and addresses, and details about the properties they are purchasing, including the purchase and sale price,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We work closely with the CRA to verify social insurance numbers that all property purchasers are now required to provide. If a (social insurance number) does not appear on the tax roll, it may indicate the individual is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and should pay the additional property transfer tax.”
The Liberal government instituted a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers of Lower Mainland real estate on Aug. 2 in an attempt to cool the skyrocketing housing market and assuage angry voters in advance of the May 2017 provincial election.
There are now 70 Canada Revenue Agency auditors focused on real estate transactions in B.C., and the Ministry of National Revenue said in a statement Tuesday it’s working with provinces to expand the data shared to improve its audits.
“The province is sitting on all the information, refusing to do the work ... ”
— NDP critic David Eby