The B.C. government is now expecting to collect a whopping $1.75 billion from the property transfer tax for the 2020 fiscal year.

Finance Minister Selina Robinson was asked if she’s worried that housing prices continue to escalate, which is a reflection of the huge property transfer tax revenues.

“This is a big piece of the work that I know we started to undertake. And I know that my colleagues and (Attorney General and Housing Minister) David Eby and (Minister of Municipal Affairs) Josie Osborne are going to be looking at how we rollout housing faster. To make sure we can get the right kind of supply out there. There’s still lots of work to be done,” Robinson says.

“And that’s why we’ve invested billions of dollars in our 30-point plan, to bring on housing not just for low-income families but also for middle-income families. And we’re going to keep rolling out that plan to make sure we have the kind of housing that people can afford.”

The property transfer is one per cent on the first $200,000 of a home sale, and two per cent on the remaining value. New homes and most first-time buyers are exempt from the tax.

The government raised its projected revenues from the tax by $479 million in the third quarter of this year.