B-C is trying to target urban areas with changes to its proposed tax on property speculation after some municipalities demanded exemptions and the Opposition accused the New Democrats of grabbing family assets. Finance Minister Carol James is also adjusting the tax rate since she first announced details in the budget last month. The changes would create a number of exemptions and shift which areas of the province would be covered by the tax. That means it would apply to properties in Metro Vancouver, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Nanaimo-Lantzville, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission and the Capital Regional District around Victoria on southern Vancouver Island, excluding the Gulf Islands and Juan de Fuca. James says the tax, which is expected to be introduced in legislation this fall, would not hit people with cabins or vacation homes in rural areas, islands or smaller centres outside of the designated urban zones. James says the proposed tax rates for Canadian citizens or permanent residents not living in B.C. would be cut from two per cent of a property’s assessed value to one per cent.