A majority in Vancouver City Council on Wednesday voted to ask the county to investigate the measure, in a bid to target real estate speculators. “Investors are buying commercial real estate, sitting on it, waiting for it to deteriorate,” said Mayor Kennedy Stewart as the measure was discussed. Tonight I asked the Municipality to join me calling the province to investigate an empty store tax. Just like homes, commercial real estate has skyrocketed in value, yet many remain vacant. It was no surprise that the same people who opposed the vacancy tax also opposed it. # Vanpoli pic.twitter.com/oCpNifhOla – Kennedy Stewart (@kennedystewart) April 27, 2022 The story goes on under the ad In Chinatown, where the commercial vacancy rate is around 18%, the proposal met with less than enthusiastic response. “It’s just ridiculous to think of this as speculation,” Jordan Eng, president of the Chinatown Business Improvement Association, told Global News.
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“The city really needs to look at itself and look at how it handles its own real estate when you have Chinatown Park, which has a 73 percent vacancy in Parkade Square.” The property Eng refers to is the city-owned Chinatown Plaza at 106 Keefer Street. Estimated at $ 14.7 million in 2021, more than half of the commercial units remain vacant. Trending Stories
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Other Vancouver BIAs say bureaucracy and property tax escalation are responsible for commercial vacancies. 2:05 Provincial rules prevent more taxes on vacant homes in BC. “(Businesses) occupy seven percent of the property and pay 43 percent of the taxes. That’s the problem, “said Neil Wyles, executive director of the Mount Pleasant Business Improvement Association. The story goes on under the ad “The city has to tidy up its house before it sees anything like a vacancy tax.” Wales said the city should prioritize issues such as waiting for licenses to be approved, which can take months or years to get approved. Stewart insists that any possible tax would only target speculators and would not apply to city real estate licenses or “good” owners. “We certainly do not want to punish real estate owners who are working hard to improve their properties and start their own businesses,” he told Global News.
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“If we do it right, we will reduce rents for business owners and that is what is important here.” The story goes on under the ad Paul Sullivan, a real estate agent with Ryan ULC, told Global News that he was unaware that any leasing agents were holding vacancies to speculate in the market. “It is ridiculous to suggest that people would rather pay their mortgages out of pocket than through rent-seeking investment income,” he said. “It just is not true.” For now, the controversial proposal will remain just an idea: the city does not currently have the power under current law to introduce a store license tax. As with the Vancouver Empty Homes Tax, the provincial government would have to amend the Vancouver Charter to authorize the city to act. © 2022 Global News, part of Corus Entertainment Inc.
