经济学人:国外炒房受挫?加拿大对外籍买家加收15%房产税

 　　Finance and economics: Property taxes: Home bias¹

　　财经：房产税：本土偏好

　　A taxing problem for foreign buyers.

　　外籍买家的房产税难题。

　　Even in hot markets like Vancouver, property sales normally slow in the summer.

　　即使温哥华的房地产市场是如此炙手可热，夏季往往也是其销售淡季。

　　But for Sonia Prasad and other estate agents, the last days of July were a blur² of hurried sales and paperwork as buyers and sellers rushed to complete transactions before an August 2nd deadline.

　　但对索尼娅·普拉萨德和其他房地产代理人来说，7月的最后几天充斥着大量仓促交易和各类购房文件，因为买家跟卖家都急于在8月2日（最后的期限日）前完成交易。

　　加拿大对外籍买家加收15%房产税.jpg

　　On July 25th the provincial³ government of British Columbia decreed that, after that date, foreign buyers must pay a new 15% tax on any residential⁴ purchase.

　　7月25日，加拿大卑诗省政府颁布法令规定，8月2日之后，外籍买家在温哥华购买任何住宅都必须多缴15%的房屋购置税。

　　The tax is aimed at stopping these buyers from pushing up prices in Canada’s most expensive residential-property market.

　　这一税收政策旨在阻止外籍买家推高加拿大最贵的房地产市场的价格。

　　Ms Prasad’s last-minute buyers included a couple from China who were purchasing a C$400,000 ($305,000) condominium in the suburb of New Westminster for their son, a student starting college in September.

　　赶在最后期限前买房的人中有一对来自中国的夫妇，他们正想在新威斯敏斯特郊区给九月份即将上大学的儿子购买一套价值40万加元（30.5万美元）的公寓。

　　The extra $60,000 they would have had to pay might have killed the deal, MS Prasad says.

　　普拉萨德说，必须上缴的额外的6万美元可能会致使他们放弃交易。

　　Indeed, the tax seems likely to have prompted some foreign buyers to walk away from deals agreed, but not completed, before the deadline.

　　的确，新政策似乎可能会促使一些外籍买家在截止日期前放弃已经谈好但还没完成的交易。

　　Governments at all levels, from municipal to federal, have been under pressure over the past two years to curtail⁵ foreign ownership in Vancouver.

　　过去两年来，加拿大从市政府到联邦政府的各级政府在缩减温哥华房地产外资问题上面临压力。

　　Michael de Jong, the finance minister of British Columbia, says foreign nationals invested more than C$1 billion in the province’s properties in the five weeks between June 10th and July 14th.

　　卑诗省财政厅长麦德庄称，在6月10日至7月14日这五个星期里，外籍公民在卑诗省房地产行业的投资就超过了10亿加元。

　　More than C$860 million of that was spent in metropolitan⁶ Vancouver.

　　其中有超过8.6亿加元的投资是注入到大都市温哥华中。

　　Back in 2011 the median price of a detached home in Vancouver was C$933,000; now it is C$1.56m.

　　2011年，温哥华独栋房屋的中位数价格为93.3万加元，而现在是156万加元。

　　Household median incomes in the city have been rising only gently, from C$69,000 in 2011 to C$76,000 by 2014.

　　这几年加拿大城市居民家庭收入中值却上升平缓，从2011年的6.9万加元升到2014年的7.6万加元。

　　Sherry Cooper, chief economist⁷ at Dominion⁸ Lending in Toronto, says Vancouver’s inflated⁹ prices are higher than anywhere else in the country.

　　多伦多主要放贷机构多美连放贷中心的首席经济师雪利·库伯称，温哥华的物价比加拿大其他任何地方都要高。

　　“When everyone is screaming about affordability¹⁰, the government has to look like it’s doing something,” she says.

　　她说：“当所有人都在叫喊负担过重时，政府必须看起来要有所作为。”

　　Other jurisdictions¹¹ have also implemented¹² policies and surcharges to reduce foreign ownership in their residential markets.

　　其他地方也已实施一些政策和附加要求来减少房地产市场中外籍买家的数量。

　　In December Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board started to charge application fees for foreign buyers.

　　去年12月，澳大利亚外国投资审查委员会开始向外籍买家征收申请费。

　　Hong Kong, the most expensive real-estate marketing¹³ in the world, has added a 15% surcharge on home purchases from non-permanent residents.

　　香港的不动产市场交易价格是世界上最昂贵的，非香港永久居民购买房产需上缴15%的附加费。

　　Britain has raised the stamp duty on homes worth more than ￡1.5m, the kind of properties bought by rich foreigners.

　　英国对价值超过150万英镑的房屋交易增加了印花税，这类房产通常是国外的富人购买的。

　　To some, however, British Columbia’s move was poorly thought out.

　　从某种意义上来说，卑诗省的这一举措欠缺考虑。

　　Under the Canada China Foreign Investment Promotion¹⁴ and Protection Agreement which took force in October 2014, foreign investors¹⁵ must be treated as favorably as locals, says Barry Appleton, a trade lawyer.

　　贸易律师巴里·阿普尔顿说，2014年10月生效的加拿大-中国外资促进与保护协议规定，必须像对待本国人一样，优惠对待外籍投资者。

　　The new tax, which targets all foreigners and not just Chinese buyers, will also violate the terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, he alleges¹⁶.

　　他认为，这项针对所有外籍买家、而非只是中国买家的新税政策也违反了北美自由贸易协议的条款。

　　This policy could end up being settled in the courts.

　　这项政策有可能要在法庭上解决。

1 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

2 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

3 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

4 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

5 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

6 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

9 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

11 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

12 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

13 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

14 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

15 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

16 alleges   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The newspaper article alleges that the mayor is corrupt. 报纸上断言该市长腐败。
• Steven was tardy this morning and alleges that his bus was late. 史提芬今天早上迟到的说词是公车误点了。