Thursday's tax break for new-homebuyers shows there's an old saying that's highly applicable in B.C. politics these days: the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Or, in this case, a reduction in your HST bill.
The Gordon Campbell government's move to raise its HST rebate threshold on new homes to $525,000 follows a masterful behind-the-scenes lobbying effort -- and a high-decibel public snit-fit -- by the real-estate industry.
The sector, normally very supportive of Campbell's Liberals, screamed long and loud about an HST sneak attack that was going to hit developers right where it hurts the most: in their profit margins.
Don't forget the Greater Vancouver Homebuilders Association was one of the groups told directly in writing by the Liberals that the HST was a non-starter before the May election -- only to be double-crossed once the Liberals got back into power.
The gloves were off. The industry went public with aggressive and damaging attacks on the government, including studies showing how the new tax would grossly inflate the price of new homes.
Behind the scenes, I'm told, well-connected real-estate players let their Liberal "friends" know exactly how disappointed they were -- especially after they'd been so generous to the Libs in the past. Property developers donated nearly $700,000 to the Liberals last year -- one of the party's biggest sources of corporate loot.
http://www.theprovince.com/business/Squeaky+wheel+gets+grease+fight/2244058/story.html
Author