BILL 70 – 2004
PROPERTY TRANSFER TAX AMENDMENT ACT, 2004

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

1 The Property Transfer Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 378, is amended by adding the following section:

Proposed strata lots -- determination of fair market value

1.4 (1) In this section:

"owner developer" means an owner developer as defined in the Strata Property Act;

"proposed strata lot" means a strata lot

(a) proposed by an owner developer to be included as part of a strata plan under the Strata Property Act when the strata plan is deposited in the land title office, and

(b) that is the subject of a written instrument executed

(i) after the owner developer proposed the strata lot's inclusion as part of the strata plan, and

(ii) before the deposit of the strata plan in the land title office

under which a person became entitled to a transfer of the strata lot in a form registrable under the Land Title Act,

but does not include a bare land strata lot as defined in the Strata Property Act;

"written instrument" means

(a) a written agreement or another written instrument, or

(b) a written assignment of a written agreement or of another written instrument.

(2) Despite the definition of "fair market value" in section 1 (1), for a transfer of a proposed strata lot for consideration in a taxable transaction, described in paragraph (a) (i) of the definition in section 1 (1) of "taxable transaction", in which the parties dealt with each other at arm's length in the open market, the fair market value for the purposes of this Act is the total amount of that consideration.

(3) Despite the definition of "fair market value" in section 1 (1), for a transfer of a proposed strata lot in a taxable transaction, described in paragraph (a) (i) of the definition in section 1 (1) of "taxable transaction", in which the parties did not deal with each other at arm's length in the open market, the fair market value for the purposes of this Act is the amount the administrator determines would have been the total amount of the consideration in the taxable transaction if the transferor and the transferee had dealt with each other at arm's length in the open market.

(4) For a transfer of a proposed strata lot in a taxable transaction that

(a) is not a taxable transaction to which subsection (2) or (3) applies, and

(b) is a taxable transaction for which the fair market value, under a provision

(i) of this Act other than this section, or

(ii) of the regulations

is determined partly by reference to a fee simple component valued according to paragraph (a) of the definition of "fair market value",

the fair market value in the taxable transaction for the purposes of this Act is the amount the administrator determines by

(c) applying the provision described in paragraph (b) of this subsection without reference to that fee simple component, and,

(d) in doing so, substituting for that fee simple component the amount the administrator determines would have been the total amount of consideration in the taxable transaction if it were a transaction to which subsection (3) applied.

(5) For the purposes of a determination under this section of the fair market value of a proposed strata lot, the transferee of the strata lot, if required to do so by the administrator, must provide the administrator with

(a) a copy of the written instrument that pertains to the transfer, and

(b) any relevant

(i) other records, and

(ii) other information

that the administrator requests for the purpose of assisting in the determination.

(6) On being satisfied that a person was the transferee under a transfer of a proposed strata lot for which the person applied for registration in the land title office on or after January 1, 2001 and that the person paid tax in an amount

(a) calculated based on the fair market value of the strata lot as at the date of the application, and

(b) in excess of the tax for the strata lot that would have been payable if the tax had been calculated in accordance with whichever of subsection (2), (3) or (4) would have been applicable,

the administrator must pay the transferee out of the consolidated revenue fund a refund equal to the difference between the tax paid and the amount of tax for the strata lot that would have been payable if it had been calculated in accordance with whichever of subsection (2), (3) or (4) would have been applicable.

Commencement

2 This Act comes into force on January 1, 2001.