Transfer tax public hearing - some quick comments
First - i was pleasantly surprised by the turnout, the number of speakers, and the diversity of the range of positions. There were some disingenuous arguments made by several folks advocating keeping the real estate transfer tax off the ballot, but also some thoughtful ones as well.
Second - the most egregious bit of disingenuousity came when a transfer tax opponent, who is also a member of the Realtor lobby, argued that the transfer tax unfairly affects home buyers and sellers who are staying in the area, and are not moving into new construction. An impact fee, she argued, would more fairly put the burden on new arrivals. All well and good, until you remember that it was the realtor lobby that put the kibosh on the impact fee for Durham County in the first place. Not all that dissimilar from the kid who killed his parents and then asked for the court's mercy because he was an orphan.
More tomorrow.
UPDATE: Carolyn Rickard at the Herald Sun observes "(m)ost people who spoke Monday night favored the transfer tax over the sales tax, though some real estate agents and homebuilders said they opposed the transfer tax."
I wasn't keeping tally, but i had the impression a slightly larger number of people spoke against the transfer tax, but i could easily be mistaken.
Chris Kukla of the People's Alliance, who also said he was speaking for the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, to my recollection was the only speaker representing groups opposed to putting the sales tax increase on the ballot.
Second - the most egregious bit of disingenuousity came when a transfer tax opponent, who is also a member of the Realtor lobby, argued that the transfer tax unfairly affects home buyers and sellers who are staying in the area, and are not moving into new construction. An impact fee, she argued, would more fairly put the burden on new arrivals. All well and good, until you remember that it was the realtor lobby that put the kibosh on the impact fee for Durham County in the first place. Not all that dissimilar from the kid who killed his parents and then asked for the court's mercy because he was an orphan.
More tomorrow.
UPDATE: Carolyn Rickard at the Herald Sun observes "(m)ost people who spoke Monday night favored the transfer tax over the sales tax, though some real estate agents and homebuilders said they opposed the transfer tax."
I wasn't keeping tally, but i had the impression a slightly larger number of people spoke against the transfer tax, but i could easily be mistaken.
Chris Kukla of the People's Alliance, who also said he was speaking for the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, to my recollection was the only speaker representing groups opposed to putting the sales tax increase on the ballot.
Labels: Durham, local politics
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9 Comments:
"All well and good, until you remember that it was the realtor lobby that put the kibosh on the impact fee for Durham County in the first place. Not all that dissimilar from the kid who killed his parents and then asked for the court's mercy because he was an orphan."
Lobbyists. Sheesh. Though for sure, as one person put it, those in the Realty profession are citizens too, just like any of us. I take issue with Lobbyists of all kind. Unfortunately, their commentary often weaves together merit and fabrication making it difficult to take what they say as objective.
But your analogy, spot on.
So, what happened to the impact fee issue and when did that occur? Were most citizens for it? Would it have made a greater impact than the transfer or sales tax?
By
Anonymous, at 12:18 AM
To be fair, it was more the homebuilders than the realtors, but they sure weren't helping much. I can't remember if the Realtors were in full opposition, but they could have come over and lent a hand with the push...
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Unknown, at 8:53 AM
as i understand it, there are two distinct instances. (And if my understanding is wrong, please chime in and correct me.) Underlying both is the NC constitution, which prohibits counties from initiating or raising taxes without an enabling act from the General Assembly.
As Becky Heron noted in her closing remarks last night, Durham County has been asking the legislature for years for the authority to levy an impact fee. That proposal has never passed; and the Realtors lobby is one of the groups that has opposed it. (There are several counties that do have the authority to levy impact fees in NC. Anybody want to lis tthem for me?)
Second, a few years ago, durham attempted to impose some sort of impact fee without enabling legislation. I'm guessing (because to be honest i was not following these kinds of things that closely at the time) that a very narrow legal interpretation of some bill or other was used to justify imposing the fee.
The fee was challenged in court and overturned. I'm reasonably certain the Realtors were part of the court challenge.
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Barry, at 9:11 AM
Orange and Chatham counties got approval to levy a schools impact fee back in the mid 80s, and Durham jumped up next in line to get a local law for it too. But by then the homebuilders had gotten organized, and started shutting down any local school impact fee law that came across the table. For 6 straight sessions (12 years), Durham tried to get a local law through, but it never made it out of committee, despite the support of the entire Durham delegation.
The state constitution gives counties the right to charge impact fees for "necessary services," and also mandates that they provide public education. Putting the two together, the county tried to argue that this meant that schools were "necessary services." The court did consider this argument, but said that supporting documentation indicated that the drafters of that particular section did not intend to extend that right to schools, and that Durham really ought to get approval from the lege.
Based on this N&O story, I think the homebuilders were the only litigating party in that. The realtors are bad, but the homebuilders are much worse. (Although then, as now, it was much more the statewide developers trying to use Durham as a "line in the sand" battleground, with many local developers quietly supporting the effort but intimidated into silence by their peers.)
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Unknown, at 9:42 AM
Oh, and while impact fees are definitely better targeted than the transfer tax, they also produce a lot less revenue than the transfer tax.
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Unknown, at 9:44 AM
Thanks, Michael.
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Barry, at 9:57 AM
Barry, I was keeping tabs, and here's what I came up with:
Clear preference for transfer tax : 7
Clear preference for sales tax: 4
No new taxes, they're such a burden! 6
No sales tax, more study for transfer tax: 2
No preference, let the people decide: 2
Kids need to have a love affair with learning and the arts: 2
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toastie, at 11:08 AM
Thanks, Toastie.
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Barry, at 1:04 PM
People in favor of a tax on someone else. What a surprise.
By
Anonymous, at 7:48 AM
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