A group of Berkshire REALTORS went to Boston on June 10th, 2015, to meet with our legislators about issues affecting private property rights and home ownership in the Commonwealth and in Berkshire County.

REALTORS® Oppose Real Estate Transfer Taxes:
Transfer taxes authorize the creation of a new transfer tax on the sale of property in a city or town. Such taxes would create an entrance or exit fee to home-ownership and would therefore have serious implications for the Massachusetts economy. These taxes single out home buyers and sellers and raise the bottom line price of many homes by thousands of dollars.  This legislation would authorize the creation of a new transfer tax on the sale of property in a municipality. Massachusetts communities facing budgetary deficiencies could then seek transfer tax authority to solve local revenue problems.

Action: As we have for the past several years, we asked our legislator to oppose transfer tax legislation.  Many refer to this as the “exit tax” and it sets and unfair burden on the home-ownership process.  Taxes levied should be relative to the services they provide – to make homeowners, who already pay property and utility taxes also pay taxes to support the whole community when they buy / sell their home is unfair.