No plans to bring in foreign-buyers tax for Montreal, says Quebec finance minister
MONTREAL — Quebec’s finance minister says he has no plans in the near term to introduce a foreign buyer’s tax on Montreal homes but is open to the idea if one is needed.
Carlos Leitao says his department is closely monitoring whether a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers in the Greater Toronto Area will have a large spillover effect on Montreal real estate prices. Ontario introduced the tax in late April and British Columbia implemented a similar levy in Vancouver last August.
“We just want to be prepared that if it needs to be done then we can do it quickly, but I don’t have any plans to do anything in the short-term,” Leitao said in an interview Friday. “The red flag is the behaviour of prices.”
The number of foreign buyers in Greater Montreal is “relatively marginal,” he added.