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Volume 60, No. 5

108/2017

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

March 28, 2017

B.C. Reg. 108/2017 , deposited March 16, 2017, under the PROPERTY TRANSFER TAX ACT [section 37]. Order in Council 152/2017, approved and ordered March 15, 2017.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that the Property Transfer Tax Regulation, B.C. Reg. 74/88, is amended,

(

a) effective August 2, 2016, as set out in the attached Appendix 1,

(

b) effective March 31, 2017, as set out in the attached Appendix 2, and

(

c) effective August 2, 2017, as set out in the attached Appendix 3.

— M. DE JONG, Minister of Finance ; N. LETNICK, Presiding Member of the Executive Council .

Appendix 1

1 The following

Part is added to the Property Transfer Tax Regulation, B.C. Reg. 74/88:

Part 4 – Additional Tax Under Act

Provincial nominee exemption – specified transactions

(1) In this section:

“principal residence” has the same meaning as in

section 12.01 (1) of the Act;

“provincial nominee” means an individual who is named in a valid nomination certificate issued by the

government in accordance with an agreement referred to in

section 8 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) between the government and Canada;

“qualifying transferee” , in relation to a specified transaction referred to in subsection (2), means an individual who

(

a) on the registration date,

(

i) is both a foreign national and a provincial nominee, and

(ii) intends to inhabit the improvement referred to in subsection (2) (

a) as the individual’s principal residence,

(

b) immediately after the registration of the transaction, holds an interest in

the residential property that is the subject matter of the transaction in a capacity

other than as a taxable trustee, and

(

c) has not previously been a qualifying transferee under a specified transaction

to which subsection (3) applies;

“registration date” , in relation to a specified transaction, means the date on which the application

for registration of the specified transaction is made at a land title office;

“specified transaction” means a taxable transaction for which an application for registration is made at

a land title office before March 31, 2017;

“taxable transaction” means a taxable transaction to which

section 2.02 (3) of the Act applies.

(2) Subsection (3) applies to a specified transaction if

(

a) on the registration date, the residential property that is the subject matter

of the specified transaction includes an improvement that is permanently affixed to

the property and is intended to be a dwelling, and

(

b) any transferee is a qualifying transferee.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), a transferee who applies for registration, at a

land title office, of a specified transaction to which this subsection applies is

exempt from the obligation to pay tax under

section 2.02 (3) (

a) of the Act on that

transaction in respect of that portion of the transaction’s taxable amount that is

equal to the qualifying transferee’s proportionate share of the transaction’s fair

market value.

(4) If, immediately after the registration of the specified transaction, the qualifying

transferee holds an interest in the residential property as a taxable trustee and

in a capacity other than as a taxable trustee, the transferee referred to in subsection

(3) is not exempt from the payment of tax under

section 2.02 (3) (

a) of the Act on that

transaction in respect of the interest held as a taxable trustee.

Appendix 2

Part 4 of the Property Transfer Tax Regulation, B.C. Reg. 74/88, is amended by

adding the following section:

Definitions

17.1 In this Part:

“eligible transaction” means a taxable transaction for which an application for registration is made at

a land title office on or after March 31, 2017;

“principal residence” has the same meaning as in

section 12.01 (1) of the Act;

“provincial nominee” means an individual who is named in a valid nomination certificate issued by the

government in accordance with an agreement referred to in

section 8 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) between the government and Canada;

“qualifying transferee” means the following:

(

a) in relation to a specified transaction referred to in

section 18 (2), an individual

who

(

i) on the registration date,

(

A) is both a foreign national and a provincial nominee, and

(

B) intends to inhabit the improvement referred to in

section 18 (2) (

a) as the

individual’s principal residence,

(ii) immediately after the registration of the transaction, holds an interest

in the residential property that is the subject matter of the transaction in a capacity

other than as a taxable trustee, and

(iii) has not previously been a qualifying transferee under a specified transaction

to which

section 18 (3) applies;

(

b) in relation to an eligible transaction referred to in

section 19 (1), an individual

who

(

i) on the registration date,

(

A) is both a foreign national and a provincial nominee, and

(

B) intends to inhabit the improvement referred to in

section 19 (1) (

a) as the

individual’s principal residence,

(ii) immediately after the registration of the transaction, holds an interest

in the residential property that is the subject matter of the transaction in a capacity

other than as a taxable trustee, and

(iii) has not previously been a qualifying transferee under

(

A) a specified transaction to which

section 18 (3) applies, or

(

B) an eligible transaction to which

section 19 (2) applies;

“registration date” means the following:

(

a) in relation to a specified transaction, the date on which the application

for registration of the specified transaction is made at a land title office;

(

b) in relation to an eligible transaction, the date on which the application

for registration of the eligible transaction is made at a land title office;

“specified transaction” means a taxable transaction for which an application for registration is made at

a land title office before March 31, 2017;

“taxable transaction” means a taxable transaction to which

section 2.02 (3) of the Act applies.

Section 18 (1) is repealed.

3 The following sections are added:

Provincial nominee exemption – eligible transactions

19 (1) Subsection (2) applies to an eligible transaction if

(

a) on the registration date, the residential property that is the subject matter

of the eligible transaction includes an improvement that is permanently affixed to

the property and is intended to be a dwelling, and

(

b) any transferee is a qualifying transferee.

(2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) and

section 20, a transferee who applies

for registration, at a land title office, of an eligible transaction to which this

subsection applies is exempt from the obligation to pay tax under

section 2.02 (3) (

a) of the Act on that transaction in respect of that portion of the transaction’s taxable

amount that is equal to the qualifying transferee’s proportionate share of the transaction’s

fair market value.

(3) If, immediately after the registration of the eligible transaction, the qualifying

transferee holds an interest in the residential property as a taxable trustee and

in a capacity other than as a taxable trustee, the transferee referred to in subsection

(2) is not exempt from the payment of tax under

section 2.02 (3) (

a) of the Act on that

transaction in respect of the interest held as a taxable trustee.

(4) The transferee referred to in subsection (2) must tender with the application

for registration of the eligible transaction an application for an exemption under

this

section that

(

a) is in the form required by the minister, and

(

b) includes a consent, in the form required by the minister, by which the qualifying

transferee consents to the administrator conducting inquiries respecting the qualifying

transferee that the administrator considers necessary to confirm the qualifications

of the qualifying transferee for the purposes of this section.

Provincial nominee refund – eligible transactions

(1) A transferee who is entitled to an exemption under

section 19 in respect of an

eligible transaction and who fails to apply for that exemption on the registration

date may, within 18 months after that date, apply to the administrator for a refund

of the tax paid by the transferee under

section 2.02 (3) (

a) of the Act on the registration

of the transaction.

(2) On receiving an application for a refund under subsection (1), the administrator,

(

a) if satisfied that the transferee would have qualified for an exemption under

section 19 on the registration date, must refund to the transferee the portion of

the amount of tax paid by the transferee that is equivalent to the amount of the exemption

for which the transferee would have been entitled had the application for the exemption

been made on the registration date, or

(

b) if not satisfied that the transferee would have qualified for an exemption

under

section 19 on the registration date, must refuse the application and provide

the transferee with written notice under subsection (3) of the refusal.

(3) If an application for a refund under subsection (1) is refused, the administrator

must send a letter to the applicant stating the reason for the refusal, and the letter

is deemed to be a notice of assessment made under

section 18 of the Act for the purposes

of allowing the applicant to file a notice of objection under

section 19 (1) of the

Act.

Appendix 3

1 The following

section is added to the Property Transfer Tax Regulation, B.C.

Reg. 74/88:

Refund of additional tax under Act if transferee becomes citizen or permanent

resident

(1) In this section, “registration date” , in relation to a taxable transaction referred to in subsection (2), means the date

on which the application for registration of the taxable transaction is made at a

land title office.

(2) A transferee may apply to the administrator for a refund of the tax paid by

the transferee under

section 2.02 (3) (

a) of the Act on the registration of a taxable

transaction if all of the following apply:

(

a) on the registration date, the transferee is a foreign national;

(

b) immediately after the registration of the transaction, the transferee holds

an interest in the residential property that is the subject matter of the transaction

in a capacity other than as a taxable trustee;

(

c) on the registration date, the residential property includes an improvement

that is permanently affixed to the property and is intended to be a dwelling;

(

d) the transferee continuously inhabits the improvement referred to in paragraph

(

c) as the transferee’s principal residence throughout a period of not less than one

year beginning on a date that is not more than 92 days after the registration date;

(

e) the transferee becomes a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada

on or before the first anniversary of the registration date;

(

f) the transferee has not previously

(

i) obtained a refund under this section, or

(ii) been a qualifying transferee under

(

A) a specified transaction to which

section 18 (3) of this regulation applies, or

(

B) an eligible transaction to which

section 19 (2) applies;

(

g) the application for the refund is made on a date that is

(

i) after the first anniversary of the date on which the period referred to in

paragraph (

d) begins, and

(ii) before the date that is 18 months after the registration date.

(3) On receiving an application for a refund under subsection (2), the administrator,

(

a) if satisfied that the requirements for the refund set out in subsection (2)

(

a) to (

g) have been met but subject to subsection (4), must refund to the transferee

the portion of the amount of tax paid by the transferee under

section 2.02 (3) (

a) of the Act that is attributable to the transferee’s proportionate share of the taxable

transaction’s fair market value, or

(

b) if not satisfied that the requirements for the refund set out in subsection (2) (

a) to (

g) of this

section have been met, must refuse the application and provide the

transferee with written notice under subsection (6) of the refusal.

(4) If, immediately after the registration of the taxable transaction, the transferee

holds an interest in the residential property as a taxable trustee and in a capacity

other than as a taxable trustee, the amount of the refund payable under subsection (3)

(

a) is equal to the portion of the amount of tax paid by the transferee that is attributable

to the interest held in the capacity other than as a taxable trustee.

(5) Interest, calculated from the day after the registration date, is payable

on tax refunded to a transferee under subsection (3) (a).

(6) If an application for a refund under subsection (2) is refused, the administrator

must send a letter to the applicant stating the reason for the refusal, and the letter

is deemed to be a notice of assessment made under

section 18 of the Act for the purposes

of allowing the applicant to file a notice of objection under

section 19 (1) of the

Act.

(7) Sections 6 (1) (

b) and 7 of the Interest on Overdue Accounts Payable Regulation,

B.C. Reg. 215/83, apply for the purposes of calculating interest payable under subsection

(5) of this section.

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