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The idea of a property surtax linked to income taxes was proposed almost two years ago by several local academics as a way to bring more fairness to the famously unaffordable world of Vancouver real estate.

Proponents say the surtax would be good for those who live and work here. The people forced to pay more under the change, they say, would mostly be wealthy foreign owners who purchase Vancouver real estate to stash their money or those who avoid paying Canadian taxes in various ways.

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The surtax idea is, as Simon Fraser University assistant professor Josh Gordon wrote in a Vancouver Sun column last month, “so obviously fair,” that since its introduction in January 2016, “not a single serious attempt has been made to criticize it. To do so would be to defend tax avoidance.”

And now, the City of Vancouver also wants to explore the idea.

Vancouver’s 10-year housing strategy, which council approved last week, includes “high-priority” measures the city wants to explore with senior governments “to limit commodification of housing and land for speculation and/or investment purposes.” Possible measures include a flipping tax, and restricting property ownership by non-permanent residents.