Off the wire
• Top news items of S. Africa's major news outlets  • Top news items of major Zambian media outlets  • Chinese, American investors buy French Nice football club  • Commentary: XpressWest's termination of high-speed rail project with China smells of protectionism, hurts interests of both  • Libyan troops suffer heavy casualties in clashes with ISIS in Sirte  • Twin bombings kill 7 in Shiite district south of Syria capital  • Cutting excess capacity poses challenges to China's economy: UBS  • Bombings rock Shiite district near Damascus  • Locals detain Taliban key commander in N. Afghan province: official  • Lawmaker in Alabama convicted for violation of ethics law  
You are here: 　 Home

Majority of residents in W. Canada favors foreign ownership tax: survey

Xinhua, June 11, 2016 Adjust font size:

A new poll has shown 80 percent of the residents in the Canadian province of British Columbia support a new tax on foreigners owning local property, as foreign money is accused to have caused housing prices in the region to jump 40 percent in the past year.

The poll, released by market research company Insights West Thursday, also showed three quarters of the 800 respondents were angry at the local government for inaction as home prices surged beyond the reach of average citizens, particularly in Metro Vancouver.

"The level of animosity towards the provincial government is high," said Mario Canseco, vice president of Insights West. "The fact that this is shown across all age groups, both genders, all levels of household income and ethnic groups is significant."

"It is very rare to get a number as high as 80 percent, and it is very rare to get three generations and people from all income levels to agree," Canseco added.

The poll showed that respondents aged between 18 and 34 were most in favor of the tax, reaching 89 percent. Endi