COQUITLAM, B.C. — A Vancouver-area family says they feel like pawns in a political game after the province introduced a foreign buyers' tax that put the sale of their home in jeopardy.
Heather Nyberg of Coquitlam, B.C., says she's disappointed in the provincial government's surprise announcement last month of a 15-per-cent homebuyers' tax for non-residents purchasing property in Metro Vancouver.
Nyberg, who was born and raised in Coquitlam, says Premier Christy Clark should stop and consider the impact her government's policy is having on families across the Lower Mainland.
The province has said the controversial tax is aimed at addressing skyrocketing real estate prices in the province's most densely populated region, and the levy came into effect on Aug. 2, days after it was announced.
Nyberg says she and her husband signed a deal to buy a smaller, more affordable home in order to reduce their financial stress and to have more time to spend with their two young children.
She says if the sale of their current house falls through they'll be forced to abandon the deposit on what they hoped would be their new home and will open themselves up to being sued.
