The Arizona Association of Realtors (AAR) is in support of C-18-2008, a ballot initiative which, if passed, would prevent our state government from imposing a real estate transfer tax.  A real estate transfer tax is a state or local government imposed tax that is collected when you trasfer ownership of your home, land or commercial real estate.  Once the tax is initiated, the rate can be increased by the state, county or city at any time.  This is bad news for homeowners for the following reasons:

• Double Taxation.  Governments already collect taxes on your property.  This new tax would unfairly impose a second tax to impact your home or property.
• Loss of Equity. Since the tax is assessed against the total value, including the amount owed on mortgages, the overall equity earned by the seller is decreased.
• Damage to the Real Estate Market.  Our market is already burdened with people struggling to sell their homes.  This new tax would make it more difficult to initiate sales due to higher overall costs.  It would also make the market less attractive for commercial real estate to recruit business to the area.
• Punishment of Homeowners.  People who move from one home to another shouldn’t be punished while others choose not to move.  This is considered discriminatory and harms access to the “American Dream: of owning a home.
• Negative Impact on Lower-Income Arizonans.  A transfer tax would impose a higher tax burden on lower income households that typically spend a larger percentage of their income on a home.

It was reported in the AZ Daily Star, that the group, Protect Our Homes, is going to court over a contention that Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell improperly disqualified 1,000 signatures on the more that 14,000 signatures randomly sent to here.  This action presents the risk that the ballot initiative will not make the November ballot.

To find out more about this important issue click here.

Denise