Realtors Opposed to a Vote of the People

Chris Fitzsimon writes at NC Policy Watch       [Click to listen]

The propaganda battle over the real estate transfer tax continues, with the N.C. Realtors Association insisting that adding a one percent tax on the sale of homes will mean an end to civilization as we know it and bristling at any mention of the six percent they charge home sellers. That fee brought in close to $1.7 billion for realtors in North Carolina in 2006. That’s another figure they would rather not be mentioned.

The realtors’ power in Raleigh is undeniable. With their PAC and well-connected lobbyists, they are used to having their way. That’s why it is refreshing when a lawmaker stands up to them and their refusal to consider sharing in the costs associated with the growth that brings them their billions.

That’s exactly what Freshman Rep. Cullie Tarleton did recently, telling his local paper that the realtors claim that the transfer fee is a home tax is misleading and that no one wants to literally tax homes. Tarleton also points out that the legislation doesn’t impose the tax, it only allows local governments to consider it and only after a vote of the people.

Good for Tarleton for speaking his mind and not being intimidated by the realtors’ money and misleading spin. The point he makes is one that the realtors have yet to address.

Why don’t they want to let people in North Carolina have a say in how to pay for new schools in their counties?