Like Tree21Likes

Why aren't Canadians angry at their government for lack of oversight?

Closed Thread
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4 LastLast
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Central (but I'm from Pokfulam).
    Posts
    148

    Why aren't Canadians angry at their government for lack of oversight?

    Last night, I spoke with a friend in Toronto. He is in tears that he will never be able to buy a condo in the city of his birth. He is a government employee who makes 56 000 Canadian dollars per year. He is single and has no write-offs (so his income tax is around 52%). The cost of a condo in Toronto is increasing by over 5000 dollars per week. Surgeons and other high salary employees are being out-bid by mystery buyers from China who are absent at the auction (who send an agent in their stead).

    When a person outside of Canada (usually a non-citizen but could be a non-resident) buys a property in Toronto, there is no due diligence, no AML check performed. The bare minimum needs to be provided in terms of buyer identity.

    This is not the case in Denmark, most Asian countries, etc....it's not so wide-open as it is in Canada.

    Canada has become addicted to the money of immgration, and forsees very high levels of immigration in the future. If you 'turn on the taps' the value of all residential property will automatically go up. Ordinary Canadian-born Canadians cannot buy in Toronto, not even a 600 sq foot condo. They were priced out of Vancouver a decade ago. Yet....they aren't angry, they aren't organising anything political, they do not recommend that their gov't perform due diligence or help ordinary Canadians in any way. To make matters worse, they NEVER ask if their own gov't planners and designers are, in fact, deeply vested in Canadian property. Is this happening?


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    HK
    Posts
    14,624
    Quote Originally Posted by PokfooLamin:
    Last night, I spoke with a friend in Toronto. He is in tears that he will never be able to buy a condo in the city of his birth. He is a government employee who makes 56 000 Canadian dollars per year. He is single and has no write-offs (so his income tax is around 52%). The cost of a condo in Toronto is increasing by over 5000 dollars per week. Surgeons and other high salary employees are being out-bid by mystery buyers from China who are absent at the auction (who send an agent in their stead).

    When a person outside of Canada (usually a non-citizen but could be a non-resident) buys a property in Toronto, there is no due diligence, no AML check performed. The bare minimum needs to be provided in terms of buyer identity.

    This is not the case in Denmark, most Asian countries, etc....it's not so wide-open as it is in Canada.

    Canada has become addicted to the money of immgration, and forsees very high levels of immigration in the future. If you 'turn on the taps' the value of all residential property will automatically go up. Ordinary Canadian-born Canadians cannot buy in Toronto, not even a 600 sq foot condo. They were priced out of Vancouver a decade ago. Yet....they aren't angry, they aren't organising anything political, they do not recommend that their gov't perform due diligence or help ordinary Canadians in any way. To make matters worse, they NEVER ask if their own gov't planners and designers are, in fact, deeply vested in Canadian property. Is this happening?
    Am not a Toronto expert but unless you friend blew is money these places aren't out of reach at all"

    Toronto Real Estate: Homes & Condos for sale in Toronto ON | RE/MAX=

    That's Max 2.2M HK for anything between 500 sqf and 1000 sqf.

  3. #3

    With home ownership in Canada at 70%, a large majority of the population benefits from this boom, whether it's the tax free gains on their dwelling or just being employed in the building and renovation sector.


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Central (but I'm from Pokfulam).
    Posts
    148

    So it seems that Canada treats the entire country as though it should be treated with the same laws and incentives re: buying a home. Rules for overseas buyers in Vancouver are the same as in Toronto, Northern Saskatchewan, Yukon, an island off the coast of Newfoundland, etc. All follow the same rules. 7 time zones of the same rules. It's no wonder why some areas are depressed and have 70% or more home ownership while others look like an army of homeless combined with commuters.


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    12,323
    Quote Originally Posted by PokfooLamin:
    So it seems that Canada treats the entire country as though it should be treated with the same laws and incentives re: buying a home. Rules for overseas buyers in Vancouver are the same as in Toronto, Northern Saskatchewan, Yukon, an island off the coast of Newfoundland, etc. All follow the same rules. 7 time zones of the same rules. It's no wonder why some areas are depressed and have 70% or more home ownership while others look like an army of homeless combined with commuters.
    Huh? I have no idea what you are trying to say.
    But I will say that there are many disadvantages in the rules some places in asia have (e.g. Philippines) where only locals can own land. That has just as many downsides as anyone being able to buy.

  6. #6

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by PokfooLamin:
    So it seems that Canada treats the entire country as though it should be treated with the same laws and incentives re: buying a home. Rules for overseas buyers in Vancouver are the same as in Toronto, Northern Saskatchewan, Yukon, an island off the coast of Newfoundland, etc. All follow the same rules. 7 time zones of the same rules. It's no wonder why some areas are depressed and have 70% or more home ownership while others look like an army of homeless combined with commuters.
    Vancouver has been charging a 15% tax for foreign buyers since last year. All it did was shift the buyers to other parts of Canada.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    13,099
    Quote Originally Posted by PokfooLamin:
    ...makes 56 000 Canadian dollars per year. He is single and has no write-offs (so his income tax is around 52%).
    This sounds like complete BS. All tax rates are available for viewing online......

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Posts
    6,745
    Quote Originally Posted by HowardCoombs:
    This sounds like complete BS. All tax rates are available for viewing online......
    OP and his buddy probably have no idea how the tax system works in developed nations.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Central (but I'm from Pokfulam).
    Posts
    148

    You shouldn't believe everything you read online. In Canada, the FEDERAL taxes are combined wtih the PROVINCIAL taxes to get an income tax rate that comes right off your paycheque. Most of those online quick lookups don't list the provincial taxes, but I don't know why, cuz those are often the same rate as the federal. [Federal + Provincial = Income Tax]. There are also MUNICIPAL taxes on top of all that which you pay through your rent or yearly property taxes if you are a home owner that are no joke, e.g. 5000 US for an ordinary bungalow. So those are just the visible taxes you pay off your paycheque. When they are combined with employment insurance (mandatory deduction though you might never access it) + workers' comp (mandatory deducation though you might never access it) + the various old age pension deductions (CPP and Old Age Pension mandatory deductions though you might never access them).....it's 56%. Take home pay in the 20s. There are further taxes on the buy side via 17-18% GST, including on food items found in supermarkets, and on gasoline...actually the gas tax is a special one. I don't know its rate.

    I guess my friend was griping that he can't even save enough for a downpayment because his parents were poor and really INSISTS on living in Downtown Toronto. I guess he needs to take a reality check.


Closed Thread
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4 LastLast