BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Canadian government proposed a new additional 1% property tax in its 2021 budget document for residential real estate owned by non-resident, non-Canadians and classified as vacant or under-used.

While the document recommended the rule effective for the 2022 calendar year, the government had not made it official until last month.

"I mean, there wasn't a lot of talk about this and any like notice provisions. (It) just quietly went into effect and I think a lot of people are going to be surprised when they talk to their accountants and the accountants learn that they do owe in Canadian property," immigration attorney Rosanna Berardi said.

Berardi said the new tax remains confusing. It applies to owners who live in their property for less than six months with exemptions for rural areas and vacation homes that aren't winterized.

"The exemptions are as clear as mud and this happens a lot when legislation comes out. It doesn't always address every issue or situation or scenario," she said.

Berardi said the exemptions do not appear to apply to many people from Western New York who own summer cottages in places like Fort Erie and even those who think they are exempt may not know for sure until they receive a tax bill.

"Not everyone is prepared for this or was expecting it and it's going to come as a surprise to many people, especially the generational cottage owners who didn't maybe buy the property initially that now realize this is significantly worth a lot of money and are going to have a big tax bill to accompany it," she said.

U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins has actively opposed the new rule since the beginning of this year and this week requested a meeting with the Canadian minister of finance to discuss its implementation.

"We are friendly neighbors with Canada," Berardi said. "We work well with them. I'm hoping politically that some pressure can be exerted."

Berardi and Higgins, a Democrat, point out this is just the latest hit to cross-border travel that has been closed or restricted in some fashion since March 2020.

"You couldn't pay me a million dollars to buy property in Canada right now because there's just too many unknowns," she said.