Once again, a new sales tax on homes and commercial property is being debated on Beacon Hill. This time, the State Senate is considering real estate transfer taxes as part of its version of the housing bond bill, and we need your help in sending a message to senators urging them to oppose a provision allowing cities and towns to create a transfer tax. If you haven’t acted yet, please take the time now to join in the
Legislative Call-For-Action issued last week by the Greater Boston Real Estate Board.
As we’ve noted,
transfer taxes are not a solution to the housing crisis. Instead, they would add to the already high cost of housing home buyers face in Greater Boston, strip equity from home sellers, and worsen our already severe housing shortage by discouraging older homeowners from selling and acting as a disincentive to investments in new housing production.
Significantly, GBREB, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, and other industry groups have worked together to successfully keep transfer tax language out of the housing bond bill reported out by the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Now, we need to convince the Massachusetts Senate to do the same.
To learn more about the negative impact transfer taxes would have on the local housing market and economy, visit our
StopNewTaxesMA campaign website. To join the effort in urging the Senate to reject transfer taxes in the housing bond bill, simply
respond to the Call-For-Action today as the Senate debates the legislation. In doing so, a pre-drafted letter outlining industry position to transfer taxes will be sent to your state senator.