Today's Letters: Home Equity Tax Would Unfairly Penalize Seniors

Let’s not pit seniors against younger generations

Subject: Is Trudeau planning to put pressure on older homeowners? July 9.

What financial windfall is Trudeau referring to exactly? I can sell my house for a much higher price than I paid for it 30 years ago, but it’s not like I can use that financial windfall to live in luxury. I would need the profit from the sale of my house to buy a new house at an equally inflated price.

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The housing crisis happened under his watch and he needs to take responsibility for it. Forcing seniors to pay property taxes will make it harder for us to maintain the middle class status we worked so hard to achieve.

Furthermore, it is not healthy to pit one generation against another. I sympathize with the younger generation facing the difficulties Trudeau has imposed on them, but the elders are not the problem.

Robert Broatch, Ottawa

Nothing to tax

Subject: Is Trudeau planning to put pressure on older homeowners? July 9.

The monetary value of the house my wife and I bought decades ago has increased dramatically due to monetary inflation. Today, however, our real wealth still consists of that same house, which is decades old. In real terms, there has been no real financial windfall.

The imaginary wealth generated by monetary inflation should not be the target of new taxes.

Richard Kind, Ottawa

Make the rental of basement accommodation compulsory

I was a real estate agent for 12 years before retiring. Before that, I worked for a very large property management company.

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My idea is to make it mandatory for all new home builders to include a basement in their new homes, from a studio to perhaps a two-bedroom apartment, which the owners could use for family members or rent out.

During construction, the plumbing and electrical are there and it is very easy to add them at a low cost. Even though this unit is subsidized to the tune of $10,000 by the federal and provincial governments, it will cost much less than any other housing project I have seen. The cost to the government and taxpayers would be very minimal.

With the cost of housing being so high, the extra income that renting a home would provide could be very helpful to some. It could put a lot more homes on the market, reducing the overall cost to renters.

Lucie Masson, Orleans

No need for a welcome mat

Subject: What if the Americans fled to Canada on July 13:

The letter’s author, Thomas Brawn, fears that Canada is not prepared for a wave of American political refugees seeking asylum in Canada if Donald Trump wins in November.

To name a few, Whoopi Goldberg, Amy Schumer, and Samuel L. Jackson said they would leave the United States if Trump was elected in 2016. And guess what? No one left. They all stayed.

So if Trump wins – and I see no reason why he shouldn’t win if the alternative is Joe Biden or Kamala Harris – my best suggestion to Brawn is “Don’t worry, be happy.”

Jill Young, Ottawa

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