How Much More Tax Burden Should Homeowners Bear?

Is your state or local government trying to raise the amount of taxes you pay on your home?

Think nothing can can be done about it? You’re wrong.

Across America, state and local Realtor® Associations have been hard at work protecting your wallet and your home from costly new and increased taxes.

As a homeowner, you already suffer a large tax burden:

• About 10% of your income goes to state and local taxes.  It takes you 40 days to pay that (that’s not counting federal taxes, either). Reminds us of that famous quote from President Reagan:

“The taxpayer: that’s someone who works for the government but doesn’t have to take a civil service exam.”

But when you factor in your home, you’re paying much more in taxes. Local governments count on real estate for almost 75% of tax revenues.  Combined, about 35% of average state and local tax revenue comes from real estate. In some states it’s even higher. Take, for example, Florida, where that rate is a whopping 43%.

State and local taxes also have a direct impact on the value of your home. Every time the government raises real estate taxes — or tries to take away benefits, such as the mortgage interest deduction —the final cost to buy and own a home goes up. With over a third of America’s housing less affordable now than it has been all century, that’s the last thing homeowners and home buyers need.

But local and state Realtor® Associations are making a difference for your home and your wallet. Here are a few examples of what they’ve accomplished:

• Realtors® in Oregon fought to preserve the Mortgage Interest Deduction.
• Realtors® in Minnesota defeated a sales tax on real estate services.
• In Louisiana, Realtors® insisted on a better plan to fund schools than simply raising the property tax burden for homeowners on the heels of its previous battle against a proposed new transfer tax.
• Cincinnati Realtors® held back a proposed property tax hike.
• In New York, Realtors® helped cap annual property tax increases.
• Prince Georges County (MD) Realtors® won a compromise on a proposed real estate recordation tax and the Maryland state Association helped save the Mortgage Interest Deduction for its homeowners.
• And a coalition of Los Angeles Realtors® helped keep a transfer tax increase off the ballot.