Dennis Norman
By: Dennis Norman
According to a report prepared by the Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA) in 2006, thirty-five states plus the District of Columbia impose a real estate transfer tax. What a transfer tax amounts to is when you sell or transfer a house (or other real property) you pay a tax to the state on the sale ranging from a low of 0.01 percent in Colorado to a high of 2.2 percent in the District of Columbia.
In addition, in some states (Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, New Hersey, Pennsylvania, Washington and West Virginia) some of the localities impose a tax in addition to the State transfer tax. In California, Louisiana and Ohio real estate transfer taxes are imposed only at the local level.
Fortunately for us, Missouri does not have such a tax….yet. However, with municipalities and the State struggling to find new sources of revenue you never know when the next target will be your home, in the form of a transfer tax. Believe me, literally almost every week, I hear of a municipality in the St. Louis area finding yet another way to impose more fees on real estate. Thus far, landlords are the most frequent target, but any day this could change and your home could be the source of new revenue for the State.
I don’t think I need to tell you how challenged the real estate market is presently…the last thing we need is anything that is yet another barrier to home ownership. Realizing this the Missouri Association of REALTORS (MAR) has stepped up to the plate and has launched an initiative to protect Missouri homeowners from facing double taxation through a real estate transfer tax. MAR is working to gather signatures to get this issue on the ballot to give Missourians a chance to make sure they are protected from yet another tax. The petition that will be circulated by MAR will ask the following question: “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate.”
Unless for some reason you feel adding an additional cost to the sale or purchase of a home is a good thing, I would encourage you to sign this petition to get it on the ballot and then vote for the amendment to assure that Missourians won’t have to worry about this additional tax in the future.
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