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Developers call for tax removal on new housing

A group of Ontario developers has proposed significant tax reductions on new homes, in a bold move to address the housing affordability taxes. The Coalition Against New-Home Taxes (CANT), comprising 18 developers with plans to build 100,000 new housing units over the next decade, has reached out to federal, provincial, and municipal governments with a unique proposition.

The coalition is calling for the removal of the harmonized sales tax on all new housing, mirroring the exemption already in place for rental housing construction. Additionally, they’re seeking the elimination of land-transfer taxes on newly constructed homes in Ontario and Toronto, as well as a reduction in municipal development charges to 2009 levels, adjusted for inflation.

You can read more on the matter here.

What’s going on?

• Bill Ackman Withdraws IPO for Pershing Square USA: “I Came Up With A Better Transaction Structure” (theDeepDive)

• Flash floods 'imminent' after Chilcotin landslide: officials (CBC)

• Elliott says Nvidia is in a ‘bubble’ and AI is ‘overhyped’ (FT)

• Meta’s Q2 Earnings: How Zuckerberg’s AI and Cost-Cutting Strategy Paid Off (theDeepDive)

• U.S. Hiring Slowed Sharply, With 114,000 Jobs Added in July (WSJ)

• Big Tech fails to convince Wall Street that AI is paying off (BNN)

• Lummis Pitches Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, Critics Call It Political Pandering (theDeepDive)

• Buffett’s Berkshire sells $3.8 billion worth of Bank of America in 12-day selling spree (CNBC)

• Chevron to move headquarters from California to Texas (FT)

• Nvidia Faces DOJ Scrutiny Over Alleged Anti-Competitive Tactics (theDeepDive)

• Coinbase expects US to be crypto-friendly irrespective of election outcome (Reuters)

• Kremlin acknowledges intelligence operatives among the Russians who were freed in swap (Globe)

What’s the latest?

• US Unemployment: The U.S. unemployment rate jumped to near a three-year high of 4.3% in July amid a significant slowdown in hiring, marking the fourth straight monthly increase from 4.1% in June. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 114,000 jobs last month, falling short of economists' forecasts of 175,000 and reflecting the impact of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes on demand.

• OTPP Funding: Bilt Rewards, a loyalty program converting rental payments into points for various perks, raised $150 million in equity funding led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, elevating its valuation to $3.25 billion. The funding will support Bilt's expansion into new verticals and further growth of its neighborhood merchant network. CEO Ankur Jain highlighted Bilt's profitability and rapid growth, with annual platform spending reaching $30 billion, a 50% increase from earlier this year.

• Google Holdings: Google-parent Alphabet has significantly reduced its stake in cybersecurity company Crowdstrike, cutting it to 427,895 Class A shares from 855,789 shares as of June 30, according to a regulatory filing. This reduction occurred before a global outage on July 19, triggered by a Crowdstrike software update. Since the outage, Crowdstrike shares have fallen nearly 35% in value.

• Venezuela: The United States has officially recognized Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of Venezuela's disputed presidential election, rejecting Nicolas Maduro's claim of victory. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the U.S. recognizes Gonzalez as the winner based on overwhelming evidence.

• Prisoner Swap: In the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, a family of Russian sleeper agents, the Dultsevs, were flown to Moscow, revealing to their children only mid-flight that they were Russian. The children, who were unaware of their heritage, were greeted by President Vladimir Putin in Spanish upon arrival. The swap, negotiated by the FSB and the CIA, involved 24 prisoners, including U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Becoming the world's largest silver producer

The stock market and stuff

• BCE Sees Major Earnings Boost in Q2 2024, Despite Revenue Dip (theDeepDive)

• Google to charge new fee on ads in response to Canada’s digital services tax (Globe)

• Intel’s Q2 2024 Disaster: $1.6 Billion Loss and Massive Layoffs Send Stock Crashing (theDeepDive)

• Magna International sees Q2 net income hit US$328 million (BNN)

• MicroStrategy Announces New $2 Billion At The Market Financing Amid Massive Q2 Loss (theDeepDive)

In the juniors

• IAMGOLD Declares Commercial Production At Cote Gold Mine (theDeepDive)

• First Majestic Silver Reports Topline Revenues Of $136.2 Million For Second Quarter (theDeepDive)

• Uranium Demand: Nuclear Reactor Pipeline and Supply Gap with Alex Klenman of Tisdale (theDeepDive)

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