The Conservative Party told True North that it would repeal the federal reporting requirement on the sale of primary residences and would not implement any tax on home equity.
The pledge followed the Canadian Taxpayers Federation calling on all party leaders to clarify their positions on a home equity tax by removing the reporting requirement on primary residences.
“Canadians rely on the sale of their homes to pay for their golden years,” said Carson Binda, CTF B.C. Director. “After the government spent hundreds of thousands of dollars flirting with home taxes, taxpayers need party leaders to prove they won’t tax our homes by removing the CRA reporting requirement.”
A spokesperson for the Conservatives told True North that the party has always been opposed to taxing the sale of Canadians’ primary residences, unlike the Liberals.
“They have spent half a million taxpayer dollars studying how to tax homes, held multiple meetings with the biggest advocate of these taxes and Carney’s handpicked housing minister, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, even had him on his podcast, in which Erskine-Smith opened the door to removing the capital gains exemption for homes himself,” said the spokesperson.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation warned that the Liberals mandated that Canadians report the sale of their homes to the CRA in 2016 despite it being tax-exempt. In addition, the CTF revealed that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation had spent at least $450,000 to study and influence public opinion in favour of home equity taxes.
The CTF revealed that the report recommended a home equity tax targeting the “housing wealth windfalls gained by many homeowners while they sleep and watch TV.”
A 2022 release from the CTF highlighted that the report recommended charging annual surtaxes of 0.2 per cent to 1 per cent on the value of a home beyond a million-dollar threshold. The tax would accumulate until the home is sold or inherited and could cost Canadians $5.8 billion annually.
Alberta Director of the CTF Kris Sims said that the Liberals met with home equity tax pushers twice, despite denying ever doing so.
“The question is, if the federal government isn’t planning on taxing you on the sale of your home, the one you own and live in your primary residence, your nest egg. If they’re not planning on taxing you on the sale of that thing, why do you need to report the sale of your home to the CRA? Is the tax man just curious? Are they writing a book? Why do they want to know?” asked Sims.
The Conservative spokesperson warned that a fourth Liberal term would result in more taxes on homes and skyrocketing housing prices that have already killed the dream of homeownership for Canadians.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre previously upped the threshold to homes valued up to $1.3 million being exempt from GST, compared to the $1 million originally introduced in his plan.
The increase followed Carney copying the federal tax exemption of $1 million for first-time homeowners, despite the Liberals previously voting down the motion in the House of Commons.
Poilievre also announced tax cuts on new building projects that would save builders up to $100,000. Municipalities would be incentivized to cut taxes by reimbursing 50 per cent of each dollar in tax relief granted to developers, up to $50,000.
The Conservative spokesperson reiterated that the combined cuts would save Canadians up to $100,000 on the purchase of a new home.
“After the Lost Liberal Decade of skyrocketing home prices and the Carney-Trudeau Liberals taxing Canadians to death, we will lower taxes and make it easier for young Canadians to afford a home for a change,” said the spokesperson.
The Liberals did not respond to a request for comment from True North.