BC increases homeowner grant
First increase since 1993
Homeowners struggling to cope with rising real estate prices in British Columbia have been given a break with the provincial government's decision to increase the homeowner grant for the first time since 1993.
The size of the grant will jump from $470 to $570 for the 2006 tax year. Seniors, the disabled and veterans will also get a $100 increase in the grant as it rises to $845.
The government already announced that it was increasing the threshold at which homeowners qualify for the grant from $685,000 to $780,000 of the assessed value of their property, which means that more than 95 per cent of homeowners are eligible for the full grant. Finance Minister Carole Taylor said the change means another 27,000 homeowners in the province are eligible for the grant.
For properties valued over $780,000, the grant is reduced by $5 for every $1,000 of assessed value. The grant is not available for properties valued in excess of $894,000, and for seniors, the disabled and veterans, the grant is not available on properties worth more than $949,000.
Taylor described escalating house prices as the downside of B.C.'s booming economy. "It has been difficult for many families as they see their taxes go up," she said.
The increase in the homeowner grant was one in a series of tax measures that Taylor introduced that will save British Columbians $253 million in 2006-2007.
But the one tax decrease that many had watched for – a reduction in the provincial sales tax – wasn't among them. Taylor said her department looked "seriously" at a cut in the PST, but for every one-percentage point drop in the tax, the province would lose $540 million in revenue.
"Not everyone thinks it's a good idea to cut the PST," she said, noting that retail spending increased by six per cent last year. "I never rule out anything for the future. We will continue to look at it."
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