Read the following article from a website.
Nova Scotia’s finance minister has proposed raising the province’s tax on foreign home buyers from twenty to thirty percent of the purchase price. The bill would also close a gap that lets buyers from overseas avoid the tax by putting a home in the name of a local relative or a numbered company. The government says about 600 homes a year are bought by people who live outside Canada, most of them condos in Halifax. The tax applies to anyone who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. A vote is expected before the legislature breaks for the summer.
Petra Mwale, who runs a housing advocacy group in Halifax, says the gap matters far more than the rate. “Empty condos do not house anyone,” she said. “Power company records show about four hundred units downtown that use almost no electricity all winter. Somebody owns those homes, and nobody lives in them.” Mwale wants the province to publish the real owners of every numbered company that buys a home.
Professor Ruslan Naumov, an economist who studies housing markets, doubts that a higher rate will change much. “Foreign buyers make up about three percent of sales here,” Naumov said. “If you want lower prices, you need more homes, and a tax does not build a single one,” he argued. Crispin Mayhew, a builder who has put up six condo towers in the city, warns that the change could slow construction. “Buyers from overseas often purchase the first units in a new project, before anyone else is ready to commit,” Mayhew said. “Without those early sales, the bank will not release the money to start digging,” he added.
Chiamaka Mbanefo, a nurse who moved from Lagos four years ago on a work permit, says the rule would punish the wrong people. “I work night shifts at the hospital and pay taxes like everyone else,” she said. “Yet if I buy a small condo next year, I would pay thirty percent more than my coworkers. That does not feel like a housing policy. It feels like a welcome that ends at the front door,” Mbanefo said.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Each of the people quoted seems to agree that 2..
Crispin Mayhew warns that losing early sales to overseas buyers would mean 3..
This article was most likely written for 4..
Right now, Chiamaka Mbanefo is 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: a plan to raise the tax on overseas home buyers
Why this is correct: The finance minister wants to raise the tax on foreign home buyers. Every speaker reacts to that bill.
Passage Reference: has proposed raising the province’s tax on foreign home buyers
Tips: Compare each option with what Mwale, Naumov, Mayhew and Mbanefo each say. If an option fits one speaker well but the others not at all, set it aside.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a shortage of nurses in Halifax hospitals this year: Mbanefo is a nurse, but nobody talks about a shortage of nurses.
- a new power company rule about empty homes: Mwale uses power records as evidence. No new power rule is proposed.
- a builder’s plan for new condo towers: Mayhew has already built towers. They are part of his background, not a new plan.
Correct Answer: raising the rate alone will not fix housing
Passage Reference: says the gap matters far more than the rate ... a tax does not build a single one ... warns that the change could slow construction ... That does not feel like a housing policy.
Why this is correct: Mwale says the gap matters more than the rate, and Naumov says a tax builds no homes. Mayhew fears slower building, and Mbanefo says it is not a housing policy.
Tips: Check every option with Mwale, then Naumov, then Mayhew, then Mbanefo. Keep it only if each of them supports it somewhere in their own words.
Why the other options are wrong:
- every numbered company should name its owners: Publishing the owners is Mwale’s request. Nobody else asks for it.
- newcomers who work here should pay less tax: Only Mbanefo speaks for newcomers who work here. The others do not mention them.
- the rate should rise even higher than planned: Nobody asks for a higher rate than the bill proposes.
Correct Answer: banks holding back money for new towers
Passage Reference: Buyers from overseas often purchase the first units in a new project, before anyone else is ready to commit ... Without those early sales, the bank will not release the money to start digging
Why this is correct: Mayhew says overseas buyers often buy the first units in a new project. Without those sales, the bank will not release the money to start.
Tips: Find Mayhew’s quotes about early sales and follow them through. Choose the result he names himself, not one from Mwale or no one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- more empty condos downtown in winter: Empty condos are Mwale’s point. Mayhew talks about starting new projects.
- higher prices for every new condo: Mayhew never says condo prices would rise.
- local families buying the first units: Mayhew says nobody else is ready to commit early. He does not expect local families to step in.
Correct Answer: people following housing news in the province
Passage Reference: A vote is expected before the legislature breaks for the summer.
Why this is correct: The article reports a provincial bill and the views of people in Halifax. It is written for people who follow housing news in the province.
Tips: Consider the whole story and everyone it quotes. Then decide which readers it serves as written.
Why the other options are wrong:
- visitors planning a holiday in Lagos: Lagos is only where Mbanefo moved from. The article gives no travel advice.
- engineers who design condo towers: Mayhew builds towers, but the article does not explain how to design them.
- staff who read electricity meters: Power records are Mwale’s evidence. The article is not about reading meters.
Correct Answer: someone who is not yet a permanent resident
Passage Reference: who moved from Lagos four years ago on a work permit ... The tax applies to anyone who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
Why this is correct: Mbanefo came on a work permit, and she says she would pay the higher tax if she bought a condo. The tax applies only to people who are not citizens or permanent residents.
Tips: Collect every line about Mbanefo, from her and from the reporter. Drop each option that clashes with what the article says about her.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a citizen who has just come back from Lagos: Mbanefo moved from Lagos on a work permit. She is not a citizen coming home.
- the owner of a small condo downtown: She talks about buying a small condo next year, so she does not own one now.
- a nurse who plans to leave Canada soon: She plans to buy a home here next year, not to leave.
Correct Answer: thirty percent
Passage Reference: from twenty to thirty percent of the purchase price
Why this is correct: The minister wants to raise the tax from twenty to thirty percent of the purchase price.
Tips: Two rates appear in the article. Use the new one, not the old one.
Why the other options are wrong:
- twenty-five percent: This rate is not in the article.
- thirty-five percent: This rate is not in the article.
- forty percent: This rate is not in the article.
Correct Answer: 600
Passage Reference: about 600 homes a year are bought by people who live outside Canada
Why this is correct: The government says about 600 homes a year are bought by people who live outside Canada.
Tips: Find the government’s yearly count of homes bought from abroad.
Why the other options are wrong:
- 300: This is half the government’s figure.
- 450: This is smaller than the government’s figure.
- 750: This is bigger than the government’s figure.
Correct Answer: four hundred
Passage Reference: Power company records show about four hundred units downtown that use almost no electricity all winter.
Why this is correct: Mwale says power company records show about four hundred units downtown that use almost no electricity all winter.
Tips: The commenter means the advocate. Find the evidence she takes from utility records.
Why the other options are wrong:
- forty: Mwale gives a much bigger number.
- two hundred: Mwale gives twice this number.
- four thousand: Mwale gives a number ten times smaller.
Correct Answer: six
Passage Reference: a builder who has put up six condo towers in the city
Why this is correct: Mayhew is a builder who has put up six condo towers in the city.
Tips: Here the writer means the builder. Find how the article introduces his experience.
Why the other options are wrong:
- two: Mayhew has built more towers than this.
- four: Mayhew has built more towers than this.
- ten: Mayhew has built fewer towers than this.
Correct Answer: night
Passage Reference: I work night shifts at the hospital
Why this is correct: Mbanefo says she works night shifts at the hospital.
Tips: The commenter is thinking of the nurse. Find what she says about her working hours.
Why the other options are wrong:
- day: Mbanefo does not say she works days.
- evening: Evening shifts are not mentioned in the article.
- weekend: Weekend shifts are not mentioned in the article.
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