Protect Our Homes, an organization founded to put an amendment to the Arizona State constitution prohibiting real estate transfer taxes, has filed their petitions.
Talking with Craig Stanford, past president of the Arizona Association of Realtors, I was told they had over 370,000 signatures and most of them had been certified. WOW! These signatures were delivered to the Secretary of State's office this past week.
Clearly, the people are making a statement to our legislature that they do not want an additional tax burden placed on the sale of their home.
We've blogged about this initiative before, however, many still wonder what's the big deal. Let me explain what has happened in other states that have imposed a sales tax on homes. Thirty-six (36) states have imposed a real estate transfer tax. In such states, many counties and cities have jumped on the band wagon and added their own transfer tax. The result is a sales tax that ranges from under 1% to over 8% of the value of the home. The real kicker is it is based on the sales price of the home, not the actual gain a homeowner has received. So, if you purchased a home for $400,000, put in $50,000 in improvements and sold it for $425,000 (not an uncommon occurrence these days) you would still pay a tax even though you lost money on the investment.
When the approximate 230,000 needed signatures are verified by the Secretary of State's office, the Protect Our Homes Initiative will go on the November 2008 ballot. A "YES" vote will pass the amendment and home owners in Arizona will be protected.
Gene Urban
The Urban Team
www.urbanteamaz.com
