B.C. speculation tax changed to exempt Gulf Island properties

VICTORIA – B.C. Finance Minister Carole James will exempt most Gulf Islands cabins and cottages in rural areas from the government’s new speculation tax, part of a suite of reforms she unveiled Monday to respond to weeks of criticism that the new tax unfairly penalized British Columbians.
The changes include limiting the geographic areas of the tax to Nanaimo and Greater Victoria, exempting Parksville, Qualicum Beach, many Gulf Islands and the Juan de Fuca areas that had originally f