Help End A Regressive Tax

To the Editor:

In these difficult economic times, it is more important than ever that our elected officials take steps to help Connecticut families afford their own homes.

As a realtor who represents home buyers and sellers, and a local taxpayer, I am opposed to a tax that is imposed on sellers alone as a remedy to help towns with their financial difficulties. For those unfamiliar, a conveyance tax is another tax imposed on the homeowner once they sell their property. The state conveyance tax is 0.5 percent and the town is currently 0.26 percent per thousand dollars of sale price.

Connecticut realtors have a longstanding opposition to the conveyance tax because it is a tax on sale price and not on ability to pay and is thus regressive.

Indeed, homes across Connecticut continue to sell, but the market has slowed considerably in the past 12 months. Every Connecticut seller is not leaving the closing tables with double digit percentage profits. Indeed, some sellers, seniors in particular, who may be moving on to retirement communities or assisted living facilities, are being impacted by the additional sales tax.

In 2003, the General Assembly approved the additional sales tax, and lawmakers acknowledged conveyance taxes were poor tax policy, when they linked passage to an agreement to end the tax on June 30, 2004. We respect and applaud lawmakers’ 2003 vote to sunset the tax this June and to find long term, broad-based solutions to balance the budget and support our cities and towns.

All homeowners should be aware and oppose this tax burden, as it will affect them at some point. The state conveyance tax has never gone away nor will this one if towns grow to depend on this revenue. Let your town officials who are strongly in favor of this tax know we are not!

JoAnn Maurer

8 Adams Hill Lane, Newtown                                   March 30, 2004