Foreign buyer tax faces lawsuit

The 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers of Vancouver homes looks set to head to the courts. Chinese student Jing Li has filed a lawsuit challenging the tax, which has added $84,000 to the cost of the Vancouver townhome she is buying.

Miss Li told CBC News that she cannot afford the additional cost of the $560,000 home in Langley but if she doesn’t complete the deal she will lose her $56,000 deposit.

She signed the contract before the new tax was implemented but it did not complete in time.

Her lawsuit challenges the BC government’s authority to implement a tax which, it says, breaches the NAFTA trade agreement by giving locals an advantage.

The intention is for the lawsuit to be awarded class action status but it could be as long as a year before the case is heard.

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