Chinese envoy challenges new Vancouver home tax as fallout spreads

Vancouver

CHINA'S top envoy in British Columbia challenged the Canadian province's new 15 per cent tax on foreign homebuyers, questioning the justification behind the hastily imposed measure.

"Why a 15 per cent tax? Why now? Why this rate? What's the purpose? Will it work?" Liu Fei, China's consul- general in Vancouver, said in an interview last Thursday. "The issue is how to help young people afford housing," she added. "I'm not sure even a 50 per cent tax would solve the problem."