The provincial government is altering its proposed non-resident property tax to better help those who own small seasonal homes and active military members.
While addressing the legislature Premier Tim Houston said, “We love our seasonal residents, and we will continue to show them our Nova Scotian hospitality and welcome them with open arms, but my main concern is for the people who are or want to live here year-round but can’t afford a place to live,”
The initial proposal from the government would have seen properties owned by non-residents of Nova Scotia taxed at a rate of $2 per $100 assessed but today the province introduced amendments to the tax, that provide a tiered rate system based on assessed value.
- The first $150,000 assessed of qualifying properties will be exempt from the non-resident property tax.
- $150,000-$250,000 of assessed value will be taxed at a rate of 0.5 per cent
- $250,000+ will be taxed at the original 2 per cent rate proposed by the province
All vacant land that is owned by non-residents will be taxed at 2 per cent.
Additionally, the province also announced that any properties owned by active service military members that would otherwise qualify for the tax will be fully exempt.
The non-resident deed transfer tax was not impacted by today’s announcement and will proceed as initially presented.
Following the initial announcement of the new taxes many stakeholders came out with concerns and the changes recently announced were in direct response to much of what the provincial government heard.
Allan MacMaster; from Jack Morse
“We are listening to the feedback we have received and believe that these changes reflect some of the concerns raised by non-resident property owners. We expect regulations to be finalized this spring,” said Finance Minister Allan MacMaster.
The government says they intend to spend more to address the housing crisis than will be received in revenue from the non-resident property tax.
