Az Prop 100 - Vote Yes!

From Ballotpedia comes the following concise and factual information on Arizona Propsition 100:

Arizona Proposition 100, known by its supporters as the Protect Our Homes Act, will be on the November 4, 2008 ballot as a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment. If enacted, it amends Article IX of the Arizona Constitution.

The sponsor's statement describes the measure this way: "this Initiative prohibits the government from charging any new tax on the sale or transfer of real property in Arizona. Currently, there are no real property sales or transfer taxes in Arizona. However, the government could enact a real property sale or transfer tax at any time. This Initiative would prohibit the enactment of any new real property sales or transfer tax by a constitutional amendment."

Real estate transfer taxes are imposed on the sale or transfer of real property. According to a 2006 study from the Federation of Tax Administrators, thirty-five states plus D.C. impose a real estate transfer. Tax rates range from a low of 0.01 percent in Colorado to a high of 2.2 percent in D.C. In about 2/3 of the states imposing the tax, the rate is below 0.5 percent of the value of the transfer. Nationwide this raised approximately $7 billion for state and local governments in fiscal year 2004.

The ballot measure is backed by the Arizona Association of REALTORS, Arizona Cattlemen's Association, Arizona Farm Bureau, NAIOP-AZ Chapter, the Arizona Contractors Association, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.

Supporting Arguments:

• Governments already collect taxes on your property based on the property's value. This new tax would unfairly cause a second tax to impact your home or property.
  
• Since the tax is assessed against the total value including the amount you owe on your mortgage(s), the overall equity earned by the seller is decreased. In the current slow market, a transfer tax would make it more difficult for people to buy or sell homes.
Once a transfer tax is put in place, it can be raised at any time. This costs people buying or selling their homes even more money.


• A home is often the biggest and most important asset a person has in life. A transfer tax reduces the equity people have worked hard building. People already pay multiple taxes and fees on their homes. This tax will layer on one more significant closing cost you will have to pay.
  
• This tax imposes the higher tax burden on lower income households that typically spend a larger percentage of their income on their home.
  
• Proposition 100 would prohibit state and local governments from imposing a tax when a home or other property is bought, sold, or transferred. The “Protect Our Homes” measure would guard against future efforts to pass a tax on property transfers.

We encourage you to vote YES on AZ Prop 100. On the sale of a $600,000 home at 1.97% the transfer tax would be $11,820! That comes directly out of the seller's equity! We, as realtors, are on the side of our clients and thus, we are promoting a yes vote on this proposition.

So, please, vote YES on Prop 100! Thank you.