Missouri voters will decide Nov. 2 on a constitutional amendment to bar taxes on home and land sales. The state dropped its appeal Sept. 3 of a judge’s decision ordering that the vote be added to the election.
The state currently does not collect a property transfer tax – imposed by city, county or state governments when a home, land or other real estate changes hands. The taxes, typically charged similar to sales taxes, are collected in 37 states and Washington, D.C. At 1.28 percent, Washington state has the highest property transfer tax rate.
A concern among area Realtors is that during a sour economy when municipal revenues decline, governments might view the property-transfer tax as fiscal relief.
For that reason, the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors is supportive of the amendment, which officials call a preventive measure because, if approved, it would not allow the tax to occur.
“We’re extremely in favor of it. We think it helps preserve property owners’ rights,” said Jeff Parker, president of the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors.
“The reality is there’s a lot of states that have enacted transfer taxes.”
In Springfield, three months into the city’s fiscal 2011, revenue from the 1 percent city sales tax has increased 2.84 percent compared to the previous year, but the September sales tax check from the Missouri Department of Revenue is down 1.35 percent compared to September 2009, according to figures released Sept. 8.
Monthly revenues were $3.91 million in the September check, compared to $3.97 million received in September 2009.
Greene County Presiding Commissioner Dave Coonrod wasn’t aware of Amendment 3 and referred questions about the county’s position on the ballot issue to Budget Officer Jeff Reinold.
Reinold could not be reached by press time.
According to the Missouri Board of Realtors, transfer taxes on home sales are considered double taxation because Missourians already pay annual property taxes on real estate.
While Missouri is among the 13 states that do not impose the tax, each of its eight neighboring states collect the tax.
MBR is working with the statewide Vote “Yes” To Stop Double Taxation Committee to educate voters on the issue. The Vote “Yes” committee organized the petition drive to get the amendment on the ballot.
Initially, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said the petition initiative did not meet the required number of signatures – 8 percent of votes cast in the most recent gubernatorial election in each of the state’s congressional districts.
Carnahan said the group was short in two of the six districts, but Cole County Circuit Court Judge Paul Wilson ruled Aug. 31 that the committee did obtain the required signatures to place the measure on the ballot.
Carnahan dropped the appeal after discussions between the Vote “Yes” committee and Attorney General Chris Koster on Sept. 3.
“We asked the state not to appeal the decision because we presented evidence to the trial court that there were significant signatures on this initiative to get it on the ballot,” said Chuck Hatfield, a St. Louis attorney for the Vote “Yes” committee. “We asked them to allow a vote to go forward.
We offered to go back to the trial court if the state had any concerns about the opinion.”
There currently is no organized opposition to Amendment 3, according to
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