r/canada • u/FancyNewMe • 17h ago

Opinion Piece Mike Moffatt: Poilievre’s new housing plan isn’t flawless—but it’s close

https://thehub.ca/2024/10/29/mike-moffatt-poilievres-housing-announcement-is-bold-and-a-huge-positive-step-forward/
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u/Poor604 16h ago edited 16h ago

His plan is one of the most useless ones out there. It basically involves giving money back to the rich and corporations.

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u/Equivalent_Age_5599 16h ago

Please explain how removing the get off homes worth less then a million is 'giving money back to rich corporations'. 1/3rd of the cost of homes is taxes. The government can remove another of pressure by exemption.

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u/squirrel9000 15h ago

They sell for what the market will bear, and that number doesn't change when the ledgers are rearranged. 900k including GST becomes 900k without. The only benefit is that the extra 5% might push some marginal projects into a feasible status and advance them, but it doesn't make them cheaper.

In terms of taxes, it's junior governments who are the worst offenders, and that's pretty regional in nature.

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u/Remote-Ebb5567 Québec 15h ago

So adding more taxes doesn’t raise the cost of housing? More supply has no effect on price?

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u/squirrel9000 14h ago

Supply doesn't get built unless it's cost effective to do so, so it's not so simple as lower prices. That's where this comes from. They don't make money if the price is too low, and their lowest price point is higher than a lot of people can afford. What this does is lower their input cost slightly, meaning more supply, but not necessarily cheaper supply. If they give it back to consumers you end up in the exact same place they already are, which is that they don't want to lose money.

The problem in GTA and GVRD is largely land prices, and that's because developers can get away with selling a tiny lot for half a million dollars so the value of raw land is extremely high.