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Central Okanagan business and development groups band together against speculation tax

Central Okanagan business and development groups band together against speculation tax | iNFOnews.ca
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CENTRAL OKANAGAN – A group of business, tourism and development organizations have banded together demanding the provincial government scrap the recently-introduced speculation tax.

In an open letter mailed to members today, Kelowna Chamber of Commerce president Carmen Sparg urged members to support the Scrap the Speculation Tax campaign.

“We, along with other local business organizations, believe this tax will not make housing more affordable for average working families in the City of Kelowna. In fact we believe it has the potential to do the exact opposite by driving away investment in our community,” Sparg said.

Attempts to get exemption for Kelowna and West Kelowna have failed as have pleas to put the speculation tax on hold, Sparg said in her letter.

Sparg did not respond to a request for an interview.

Besides the Kelowna Chamber, organizations backing the campaign include the Canadian Home Builders Association Central Okanagan, Urban Development Institute Capital Region and Okanagan, Independent Contractors of British Columbia, Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, Peachland Chamer of Commerce and Tourism Victoria.

Both Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran and West Kelowna Mayor Doug Findlater have slammed the speculation tax, introduced in February by the provincial government as a way to combat real estate speculation and low vacancy rates.

To contact a reporter for this story, email John McDonald or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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John McDonald

By John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca

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