The top banking and real estate groups in Massachusetts have teamed up with a pair of business groups to plead with state senators to pass on proposed new real estate transfer taxes.
A proposed tax on high-value real estate transactions to pay for affordable housing would add an estimated 3,210 affordable homes in Massachusetts over five years, according to the governor’s administration – a drop in the bucket of the state’s 200,000 housing unit shortage.
It likely feels like “Groundhog Day” for the coalition seeking a transfer tax on higher-end sales after running into a brick wall in the House of Representatives.
Million-dollar home sales just aren’t what they used to be in Greater Boston. And that’s a major problem for Gov. Maura Healey as she forges ahead with her proposal for a local-option tax on expensive home sales.
An anti-tax group lashed out at Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday, calling the Republican governor “a disappointment” after he rolled out a plan last week to generate about $1 billion over the next decade by hiking the excise tax paid on real estate transfers.
Our elected leaders are wary of confronting this ingrained NIMBY sentiment that stifles new housing construction and keeps prices trending ever upwards.
The Cambridge City Council has backed a proposal to institute a real estate transfer fee on property worth more than $2 million, and direct the resulting proceeds towards affordable housing initiatives.
