Vancouver Board Of Trade: Metro Vancouver

Fait Accompli Dept: "We are really choked that we don't have any transition rules yet and are absolutely amazed that our provincial government - who probably most of you voted for - thought that this thing was fait accompli and there was no Plan B," said Ward McAllister, president of Ledingham McAllister Properties. "What is amazing to me is that it took them three days to bring this new tax in and now they are telling us it is going to take up to 18 months to unravel. This is really hurting us in the new home business just because of the uncertainty, according to Vancouver Sun. The 12-per-cent HST applies to new home sales, while under the GST-PST regime, new home buyers only paid the five per cent GST. With no transition rules, it is uncertain what the PST will apply to when it is reinstated in 2013 and metro Vancouver's new home industry is hurting badly over the absence of any transition rules governing the return of the provincial sales tax since the harmonized sales tax was defeated in a referendum Aug. 26, three property experts told the Vancouver Board of Trade Friday. "Since the referendum we have been literally begging for transition rules," he said. "Any of our product that's $525,000 and over, which is the threshold, is sitting. We are having to make deals and pay a portion of the HST." (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.