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August 12, 2019 - 7:00 AM
KELOWNA - In an effort to make housing more affordable, the Canadian Home Builders Association has calculated how much money goes to the government for each new house built in B.C.
The tally varies according to where the home is built because of two factors: the price of land and how much each city charges to developers.
For example, a 2,400 square foot, two storey home on a 6,000 square foot lot with four bedrooms, 3 ½ bathrooms and a garage/carport costs about $175 per square foot to build.
In Kamloops, that house will sell for about $650,000, out of which taxes make up about $66,000. In Kelowna, it would sell for about $200,000 more with an extra $28,500 going to the government. In all, the taxes on the Kelowna home get close to $100,000 (listed in the report as $94,208).
While the report gives specific numbers, Scott Henderson of DHZMedia, who distributed it, advises caution when quoting exact numbers.
“As the report is an estimation, you should avoid absolute numbers,” he wrote in an email.
That being said, this is how the tax dollars break down. Note, these numbers include the cost of rezoning.
In Kelowna, the city collects about $31,000 for things like parks and roads, the province gets $20,800 in sales taxes and the federal government $42,500. The federal share includes sales taxes and income taxes collected from workers.
By contrast, the City of Kamloops only takes in about $20,000, the province $13,500 and the feds about $32,500.
In Penticton, the two senior governments collect the same amount of taxes as they do in Kamloops but the City of Penticton picks up $22,800, so slightly more than in Kamloops.
Vernon is not included in the list but Surrey is, where a new home nets various levels of government around $155,000.
The Homebuilders Association has also set up an affodabilty.ca web site aimed at informing the public on housing issues leading into this fall’s federal election.
Some of the suggestions it makes for government action is to bring back 30-year mortgages to qualified first time buyers, easing back on the mortgage stress test and work with provinces to create more affordable rental housing.
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