Ontario will start collecting data on home buyers, including foreign investors
Financialpost.com
April 19, 2017
By Garry Marr
Ontario home buyers will have to declare their citizenship and whether they plan to occupy a residence under changes to the way data collected with the land transfer tax, following up on a pledge made by finance minister Charles Sousa.
Sousa and his federal counterpart Bill Morneau, along Toronto Mayor John Tory, had agreed at a meeting Tuesday that they would begin sharing more information about the housing market as the trio try to get an answer to the situation in the Greater Toronto Area where resell housing prices rose 33 per cent in March from a year ago.
To that end, the province announced changes to the land transfer tax that will now see it require people who purchase or acquire land that contains one to six family residences or agricultural land to provide additional information.
Effective April 24, the purchaser will have to declare:
- Whether the home is intended to be occupied by the person who purchases or acquires the land, or their family member(s), as their principal residence;
- The type of dwelling (detached, semi‑detached, condominiums, cottages, etc.);
- Whether the property, in part or in whole, is intended to be leased out;
- The residency, citizenship and permanent resident status, if the person who purchases or acquires the land is an individual;
- Information about incorporation, ownership and control, if the purchasers are corporations;
- Information about beneficial owners, if the person who purchases or acquires the land is acting as a trustee, nominee or in a similar capacity.
Failure to provide the information will be an offence under the Land Transfer Tax Act which can result in fine. During the transition period of April 24 to May 5, 2017, no penalties will be applicable for any deficiencies but the additional information is still required to be submitted for applicable purchases and acquisitions of land that occur during the transition period.
