Ford government poised to waive HST on all new homes as sector struggles

Key points

• Send this page to someone via email The Ford government is poised to offer all home buyers a significant tax discount on newly built homes, Global News has learned, in a major expansion of a government program designed to breathe life into Ontario’s sluggish housing sector.
• As part of his spring budget, Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy is expected to announce that the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax will be removed for anyone buying a newly constructed home, rewriting a policy the government introduced just months ago.
• The original version of the plan, introduced during the fall economic statement, allocated $470 million over three years to give first-time Ontario homebuyers a tax break on new homes.
• Ontario’s pledge to waive its portion of the HST came shortly after a similar announcement by the federal government — allowing first-time homebuyers to save up to $130,000 on a new home under...