Ontario Liberals target elite land speculators with new “use it or lose it” tax

TORONTO – Steven Del Duca announced his plan to force real estate speculators sitting on land to get on with building new homes or be charged with a new “use it or lose it” speculators’ tax. Our plan will also target underused government properties for development of new, affordable homes.

The Ontario Liberal plan will tackle skyrocketing housing prices head-on by building 1.5 million new homes over the next 10 years, doubling the pace of homebuilding and bringing affordability back to Ontario’s housing market.

“Doug Ford won’t build more homes because he doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to rich Conservative donors who are deliberately squeezing supply to drive up prices and profits,” said Del Duca. “The biggest fraud of the last election was when Doug Ford said he was ‘for the people.’ For the last four years, he refused to go after those who are profiting off the housing crisis and instead rewarded them with sweetheart deals.”

Those same speculators are currently sitting on approvals for over 250,000 new homes. The Liberal housing plan received top marks from the Ontario Real Estate Association, beating out both the Ford Conservative and NDP housing plans in the “Homes For Everyone” political report card.

The Ontario Liberal plan will:

• Impose a new “use it or lose it” levy on these lands to force those speculators to get building – or sell to someone who will;
• Introduce a new tax on vacant urban homes at 2% of their assessed value and increase that tax on homes owned by non-Canadians; and
• Launch a new Ontario Home Building Corporation to develop underused government properties into new, affordable homes and selling only to first-time homebuyers.

“Doug Ford promised to lower housing costs in the last campaign. Housing prices have increased by almost $500,000 with the average housing cost rising to over $1 million for the first time under his watch,” continued Del Duca. “Our Liberal plan will make life more affordable from day one. We will build 1.5 million new homes, and we will tax speculators and we motivate those who have the land to get building – because that is what Ontario families expect and deserve.”

Conservatives won’t do what it takes to build more homes, because it will mean taking on their rich land speculator donors; Ontario Liberals will.