Canadians back surtax on homes valued over $1M: poll

A new survey shows that the majority of Canadian residents would support a modest price on housing inequity, with many calling for a surtax on homes valued over $1 million – comprising 10 per cent of the country’s housing market.

Such a tax measure could raise around $5 billion per year in revenue, as reported by BNN Bloomberg.

The data, collected by Generation Squeeze, a Canadian nonprofit, points to unified homeowner hopes of combating unaffordability.

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“We should celebrate those among us willing to contribute a small amount of their housing wealth to help put the brakes on crushing levels of unaffordability,” Generation Squeeze wrote on their website.

“Our poll suggests many Canadians are open to changing a dysfunctional housing system that pits younger aspiring home owners … against older established home owners who bought into the market decades ago and have watched as rising prices created wealth windfalls.”

The poll surveyed 1,010 Canadian adults. Fifty-seven per cent of respondents living in million-dollar homes said they would be in favour of “putting a modest price on housing inequity.”

In October, the average home price in Canada dropped to $756,200, down 1.2 per cent from the previous month, according to a report released by the Canadian Real Estate Association on Tuesday.

Many poll respondents claimed that taxing support would rise if revenue increases went toward more affordable housing units.

“What our poll found is that many Canadians would be willing to go further than politicians expect to check home price escalation,” Generation Squeeze said.

Methodology:

This data was collected by Research Co. for Generation Squeeze. The poll was conducted among 1,010 Canadian adults, and the margin of error for the results is +/- 3.1 per cent age points, 19 times out of 20.