POLL: People think additional 'School Tax' will be expanded
Most residents think the provincial government will apply the additional school tax for properties valued at $1 million.
Vancouver, BC [November 22, 2018] – Many British Columbians are concerned about the possibility of a new tax on real estate being expanded to include lower priced properties, a new Research Co. poll conducted for STEPUP has found.
The provincial government introduced the additional school tax of 0.2% on the value of homes between $3 million and $4 million, and a tax rate of 0.4% on the portion of a home’s value that exceeds $4 million.
In the online survey of a representative sample of British Columbians, seven-in-ten residents (70%) think the provincial government will likely expand the additional school tax to properties valued from $2 million to $2.99 million.
A majority of residents (53%) think the provincial government will likely expand the additional school tax to properties valued from $1 million to $1.99 million, and two-in-five (42%) think the tax may be expanded to include all properties.
Three-in-five residents (61%) approve of an eventual expansion of the additional school tax to properties valued from $2 million to $2.99 million. However, 66% of home owners who reside in a property currently assessed at $2 million or more disapprove of this expansion.
Most residents (51%) disapprove of expanding the additional school tax to properties valued from $1 million to $1.99 million, and almost three-in-four residents (73%) disapprove of expanding the additional school tax to all properties.
“While two thirds of British Columbians (67%) approve of the additional school tax in its current form, support drops if it is applied to lower priced properties,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Homeowners are decidedly opposed to the idea of the tax being expanded to include their places of residence.”
In addition, most British Columbians (57%) are not confident that the revenue generated by the additional school tax will be used to provide education in the province.
Almost half of British Columbians (46%) think provincial politicians have sought to divide over the past year, while more than a third (36%) think they have sought to unite.
A majority of BC New Democratic Party (NDP) voters in the last provincial election (56%) think politicians have sought to unite, while seven-in-ten BC Liberal voters (70%) think they have sought to divide.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from September 2 to September 5, 2018, among 800 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our full data set here and download the press release here.
Photo Credit: Larry LaRose
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
[c] 778.929.0490
[e] [email protected]