TORONTO, Feb. 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Wednesday, February 3rd, ACORN will be holding actions in nine cities across the country calling on the Federal Government to immediately plug the tax loophole in the Income Tax Act that exempts Canada’s biggest landlords or Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) from paying taxes. REITs have been buying up massive swaths of Canada’s aging rental housing stock and pursuing a strategy that has led to a mass tenant displacement and skyrocketing rents. To counter this, ACORN is pushing for a new regulatory framework that would tie tax rates for REITs to how much affordable housing they are protecting.
Read more about REITs, their role in Canada’s housing crisis, and what ACORN is calling for in New Rein in the REITs Report: https://acorncanada.org/resource/rein-reits (Link will be live on Feb 3rd morning)
LOCAL ACTION
What: ACORN actions across the country.
Toronto: Chrystia Freeland's constituency office (344 Bloor Street West) at 11:00 AM
Peel: Brampton South MP Sonia Sidhu's office at 5 Montpelier St #214, L6Y 0C3 at 11:00 AM
Ottawa: Sandalwood Park at the corner of Sandalwood Dr/Baycrest Dr in Herongate at 11:00 AM
London: MP Peter Fragiskatos's office at 231 Hyman St. at 3:00 PM
Montréal: 6415 Boulevard Monk, H4E 3H8, office of Lasalle-Émard-Verdun Liberal MP David Lametti at 11:00 AM
Nova Scotia: Andy Fillmore's office at 1888 Brunswick St in Halifax at 12:00 PM
BC: Jocye Murray's Constituency Office at 2112 W Broadway, Vancouver V6K 2C8 at 1:30 PM
VIRTUAL VIDEO RALLY
When: Wednesday, February 3rd at 1PM Eastern
Where: http://bit.ly/DayOfActionACORN
What: ACORN leaders from across Canada will describe the REIN IN THE REITs Campaign and facilitate phone blitzes to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Liberal MPs.
New Report exposes:
Analysis of seven residential REITs shows that if they were taxed at the same rate as non-REIT Canadian corporations, they would have paid over $1.2 billion more in taxes since 2010. CAPREIT, Canada’s biggest REIT, CAPREIT would have paid over $425 million more in taxes1.
Despite the pandemic, REITs boast of making record profits. About time to Rein in REITs!
ACORN Canada is a national independent organization is an independent national organization of low- and moderate-income families with 140,000+ members in 20+ neighbourhood chapters across 9 cities.
For information or to speak to ACORN members in French or English, contact:
Bhumika Jhamb at natresearch@acorncanada.org or call at 647-913-5358
Or Judy Duncan at canadaacorn@acorncanada.org or 416 996 6401
1 Calculation was done by DT Cochrane at Canadians for Tax Fairness.