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

VICTORIA — B.C. Finance Minister Carole James will exempt the Gulf Islands 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, the Gulf Islands and Juan de Fuca areas that had originally fallen under t