The federal government’s elimination of the GST on rental builds, and the Ontario government’s matching, will give that market a much-needed boost. But more can and should still be done
or in other words, we have to build close to one third of Canada’s total existing housing stock. Getting there means tripling our current rate of homebuilding – a tall task at a time when our housing starts are actually slowing for a number of reasons, including labour shortages and the rising costs of raw materials, financing and development charges.
Eliminating the massive structural deficit in the supply of rental homes in Canada will take a whole-of-government approach. Federal, provincial and municipal governments all need to go much further and much faster than they have in recent decades. Eliminating the GST on rental construction through a rebate is an important start.
Eliminating one sales tax on rental construction is good; eliminating two is better. And so it’s laudable that the Ontario government quickly announced it would match the federal government’s initiative and remove the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax also.
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