VANCOUVER—Owners of properties worth $3 million and up converged on city hall Wednesday to protest what they call an unfair tax levied by the province.

They were there to support a motion from Rebecca Bligh, a city councillor with the Non-Partisan Association. Bligh’s motion argued that a steep increase to the provincial portion of property tax for high-value homes amounts to an incursion on the city’s taxation powers, as well as being an unfair form of taxation.

The motion called for the city to send a letter to the province asking for the tax to be withdrawn. It passed, with support from five NPA councillors and three Green councillors.

The motion reignited a contentious conversation, divided by class and geography, about the tax, Vancouver’s inflated real-estate market and who is really struggling in the city.

Following an extraordinary spike in land values in 2016, nearly all single-family homes on Vancouver’s west side are now worth millions, with $3- to $6-million valuations common, reaching into double digits for the Point Grey and Shaughnessy neighbourhoods.

Michael Jagger, the 43-year-old owner of Provident Security, told council he has borrowed against his Kerridale home twice to keep his business afloat, but managed to pay back both mortgages. He employs 170 people and said maintaining a head office in Vancouver is becoming a precarious disadvantage.

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Tanja McQueen and Brad Marchant own a two-bedroom condo in Yaletown that was worth $700,000 when they bought it in 2002 but is now valued at over $3 million, though they expect the value will fall this year with the downturn in the market. The couple is using the equity in the property to fund their retirement.

It’s the same story with Richard Younker, who is also using his home equity for retirement income. The extra provincial tax will add $8,400 to his 2019 tax bill.

Carol Challoner will be paying $10,000 extra on the taxes for her Shaughnessy home, an amount she said could be used for home improvements. She feared the tax could turn Shaughnessy, a neighbourhood of heritage mansions on large lots, into a “bad neighbourhood” full of rooming houses.

Based on the tax rate, Younker’s home is likely worth around $5.5 million, while Challoner’s home would be worth about $6 million.

Speaking to council, Mary Lavin, who owns a duplex in Kitsilano, said the tax “is a deceptively named tax that violates human rights.”

While homeowners over age 55 can defer their property taxes indefinitely, Younker, Marchant and McQueen said they did not want to incur more debt.

In introducing her motion, Coun. Bligh said the tax is unfair and will not help Vancouver become more affordable.

“We must send that message to the provincial government, we must stand up for all residents of Vancouver,” Bligh said at a later point in the debate. “All of them, not just the most vulnerable.”

Green Coun. Adriane Carr emphasized that she found the tax problematic because the provincial government was edging into the tax base of local government, which already struggles to raise revenue from a more limited tax base than the province has access to.

“We will actually grow the population of our most vulnerable if we allow the provincial government to do this,” she said.

NPA Coun. Colleen Hardwick warned that the tax could bring property values down.

“(The mayor) should be enthusiastically defending the homeowners of Vancouver who are trying to stay here, because if you try to sell a house for $3 million, even with two professional salaries, who is going to buy it?” Hardwick said. “We’re watching the market go down.”

Coun. Christine Boyle (OneCity), Coun. Jean Swanson (COPE) and Mayor Kennedy Stewart voted against the motion.

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“Much of this conversation has shown the need for broader conversations that build a sense of perspective about who is struggling in this housing crisis and what that struggle looks like,” Boyle said.

“Owning a home worth $3 million is a form of wealth, and what it gives people is choice, choice that renters and others who are really struggling don’t have.”

Clarification — December 14, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version to make clear that Michael Jagger told Vancouver city council that maintaining a head office in Vancouver was becoming a precarious disadvantage. He did not tell council that he was considering leaving the city.

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