West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater continues to voice his opposition to the Provincial Government's incoming speculation tax, as well the amount of secrecy he says is surrounding it.
He says Premier John Horgan and Finance Minister Carol James have not yet revealed any clear legislation or regulations regarding the tax, and when it comes to the subject of West Kelowna's inclusion, any responses he has gotten from the Provincial Government have been vague at best.
"They cannot provide a rationale as to why West Kelowna was included," Findlater said on the Early Edition Thursday morning. "This is very concerning when you draw circles around certain areas and exclude other areas. You should be able to justify that."
The City of West Kelowna previously sent a five-page letter, as well as 24 pages of documentation, to the Provincial Government, detailing why they oppose the tax, but received a response of only one paragraph. They've also asked that a study be commissioned into the potential impact that the tax would have on West Kelowna, but the City hasn't received a response on that yet.
While the tax hasn't even arrived yet, Findlater says it's already having a negative impact on West Kelowna's housing developments by scaring off investors.
"One of the real concerns here is that it's an asset tax rather than an income tax. I would think that you'd want to do a lot of public consultation before you even dipped into that."
Findlater says a Union of BC Municipalities conference is being planned to further address concerns over the spec tax in the near future.
The tax would apply to home owners with more than one primary residence, and would charge more for out-of-province homeowners who own a property in spec tax-affected areas.