[ucsdrake]

There wouldn't be, if that were the case.[3]

As the article mentioned, many individuals are 'gifted' items from family members still residing in China. How do you tax somebody that has no official income? (aside from the tax one purchase itself, which isn't what I think you're referring to). Such tax avoidance schemes aren't unheard of[1].

What adds the contention and frustrations of residents is the foreign investments in real-estate, which, in Vancouver and Toronto specifically, are driving the costs above what they can realistically afford. Again, it's not unheard of for the foreign investors to be using the real estate as tax avoidance in their own country[2], at the cost of the local citizens quality of living.

[1] - http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/kpmg-offshore-sham-deceived-... [2] - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/a-crisis-in-vancouver...

[3] - ninja edit - I'm not trying to categorically say none of those mentioned in the articles pay taxes! Of course that's not the case! What I'm trying to communicate is, those who aren't and are avoiding paying taxes, are the ones causing issues for local residents and what the focus of these articles I've mentioned.

[cm3]

Sounds like there's need for catching (maybe with new laws) tax evasion as described.

But at the very least they will consume stuff and pay taxes there. I guess their stay is more like a prolonged vacation of some sort.

[ucsdrake]

No doubt some of the tax evasion needs to be caught (where possible while maintaining a free market, I'm aware that may be a false dichotomy). However, there is little hope of anything being done in regards to the real estate situation given the state of Canada's current economy[1]. There's no incentive for the current governments (federal or provincial) to curb the trend.

[1] - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-29/canada-s-o...