AT a construction site in Surrey on Tuesday, Surrey-Panorama candidate Puneet Sandhar and Richmond-Queensborough candidate Jas Johal announced that the Liberals will help people build new secondary suites in their homes by expanding the Home Renovation Tax Credit.
“This new tax credit will make it easier to build secondary suites, opening up new places for renters, and bringing families new income to help with their mortgage payments,” said Sandhar. “This is the type of innovative thinking that helps both owners and renters.”
Currently, the Home Renovation Tax Credit assists eligible individuals aged 65 and over and persons with disabilities with the cost of home renovations to improve accessibility.
The Liberals made the commitment to expand the tax credit in their 2017 platform, which builds on a number of other changes to help British Columbians afford to own or rent a home:
* Largest ever single-year investment of $920 million to create close to 5,300 new units of affordable rental housing;
* Raising the threshold of the First Time Home Buyers’ Program exemption, saving first-time home buyers up to $8,000;
* Investing $700 million in the BC HOME Partnership program to help with mortgage down payment assistance loans to over 42,000 first-time home buyers over the next three years.
“Only Today’s BC Liberals have a plan that will help British Columbians afford to rent or buy,” said Johal. “John Horgan continues to say one thing and do another, changing his plans for housing at least three times since he launched their platform.”