The federal government has pledged to introduce a modest, targeted vacancy tax in its recent budget in order to tamp down on the speculative housing activity that has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is difficult to imagine that such a small measure will make much of a difference on the overall costs and a responsible government would, before introducing new initiatives, examine and eliminate perverse incentives in this realm which previous have put in place and which continue to contribute to an overheating market.