INN24: ACORN calling on Federal Government on tax loophole
Posted February 6, 2021
If REITs were taxed the same as non-REIT corporations, they would have paid over $1.2 billion in taxes since 2010
Posted February 6, 2021
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is set to hold actions in nine cities across the country today, urging the Federal Government to address a tax loophole that’s costing $1.2 billion to taxpayers.
ACORN said that the loophole in the Income Tax Act allows Canada’s largest landlords or Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) to not pay taxes.
The REITs have reportedly been purchasing large amounts of Canada’s ageing rental housing while implementing a tactic that has resulted in mass tenant displacement as well as higher rents.
In the meeting, ACORN is set to push for a new regulatory framework system through which tax rates for the REITs will be tied to how much affordable housing it is providing and/or destroying.
According to a statement on the official ACORN website, “the rapid growth of … REITs is creating and fuelling the existing housing crisis,” adding that “Federal government should immediately re-evaluate this tax loophole.”
ACORN claims that the analysis of seven residential REITs exposed that “if they were taxed at the same rate as non-REIT Canadian corporations, they would have paid over $1.2 billion more in taxes since 2010.”
ACORN Canada is an independent national organization consisting of low- and moderate-income families. It consists of over 140,000 members across the country.
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Article by Anastasia Andric for INN24