Realtors urge Houston to reconsider deed transfer tax hike for non-residents

Jean Laroche · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 14, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The relation that represents astir 2,000 Realtors successful Nova Scotia is calling connected the Houston authorities to rethink its plans to treble the deed transportation taxation for non-residents buying homes successful the province.

The Financial Measures Act, up for nationalist remark astatine Monday's gathering of the recently created nationalist bills committee, calls for the non-resident deed transportation taxation to summation to 10 per cent connected April 1 from the existent 5 per cent levy.

Suzanne Gravel, incoming president of the Nova Scotia Association of Realtors, said the measurement volition nonstop the incorrect connection to would-be investors successful the province.

"It instantly gives a idiosyncratic [a] 'they don't privation america to travel there' feeling," Gravel told CBC News recently. "It's a large tax, it's a large tariff."

Gravel utilized the connection tariff successful drawing a parallel betwixt the projected tax increase and Premier Tim Houston's tendency to unfastened up the state to freer commercialized arsenic a buffer against caller U.S. tariffs.

"To accidental we privation to share, we privation to beryllium capable to bash concern crossed provincial lines and then this," said Gravel. "That's keeping everybody retired due to the fact that we're the lone state that does this."

That sentiment is shared by John Duckworth of Duckworth Real Estate successful Chester, N.S., whose primary business is selling to non-resident clients who privation to person a "second home" successful Nova Scotia.

Duckworth said the projected taxation hike volition discourage radical from moving to the province.

"It's a 'don't travel here' tax," said Duckworth. "I don't cognize what the premier's trying to bash with this, but the full happening is conscionable wholly negative."

He said the measurement would besides impact Nova Scotians selling their properties, forcing would-be location sellers to little their terms to enarthrosis immoderate oregon each of the summation being proposed.

Dalhousie University economist Lars Osberg agreed.

"In the jargon of economics, that's called the terms elasticity of request oregon the terms elasticity of supply, but the plain English of it is that if you truly privation to merchantability this property, you're gonna judge a little price," said Osberg.

"It's ever going to beryllium partially the purchaser and partially the seller [who pays the deed transportation tax] in proportionality to however severely they privation to merchantability oregon buy."

On the time helium introduced the projected changes, Nova Scotia Finance Minister John Lohr told reporters expanding the taxation was a mode to springiness Nova Scotian buyers a limb up connected out-of-province contention erstwhile it comes to location sales.

"If a Nova Scotian is bidding for a location and idiosyncratic other is bidding connected it arsenic a cottage, we privation that Nova Scotian to person a flimsy vantage and that's what that non-resident deed transportation taxation is — a flimsy vantage for a Nova Scotian," said Lohr astatine the March 5 measure briefing.

Neither Gravel nor Duckworth see it that way. They say homes that are appealing to out-of-province buyers are not the homes Nova Scotians are looking for.

"I don't spot wherever it has thing to bash with the Nova Scotians wanting to bargain homes due to the fact that usually they're buying homes wherever they enactment and that's gonna beryllium the HRM country largely, and possibly Sydney, but not apt to beryllium agrarian Nova Scotia," said Duckworth.

He said helium doubts the $13 million the state estimated it would raise by expanding the taxation volition beryllium a nett payment fixed however overmuch part-time residents contribute to their section communities.

"I'd emotion to spot the economical survey that was done to beryllium to the state that this was going to beryllium a nett summation successful economical enactment here," Duckworth said.

"I'm definite they haven't done immoderate studies and I'm definite they don't adjacent recognize the effect this is going to person connected agrarian Nova Scotia, connected the builders, connected the operators of retail stores, connected the restaurants, connected the car rental companies, connected the taste events."

James Wooder, a Cape Breton nonmigratory with spot connected the South Shore helium whitethorn 1 time privation to develop, worries the summation could depress existent property prices successful agrarian communities.

"Somebody thought it was a bully idea, but they didn't deliberation astir the sound connected and unintended consequences of this, which could beryllium disastrous," said Wooder. "What does it mean for municipalities if the wide (tax) basal for the municipality takes a deed implicit the agelong run?"

He pointed to the developer who has been investing successful Ski Cape Smokey and gathering 74 condominium units astatine the basal of the elevation successful Ingonish.

"What we've done now, we're rewarding him for each the concern and clip and vigor he's enactment into Nova Scotia and the hazard that he's taken by slapping a punitive taxation connected him that compromises his concern model," said Wooder, who'd also like the Houston authorities to reconsider the taxation increase.