I just received an email from C.A.R. (California Association of REALTORS®) urging me to call my local Senator and encourage him to VOTE NO on AB1574.
Apparently, a loophole in California law allows developers and others impose private "transfer taxes" on the sale of homes---every time the home is sold. There's no limit on how long the taxes will be imposed, no regulation on the money collected and no oversight or accountability on what the funds are used for!
There's a community here in Orange County where I've encountered this "tax" When I questioned it, I was told it went toward community events like Fourth of July celebrations, etc. But according to this email from C.A.R. it sounds like this is strictly on an honor system as to how the monies will actually be spent.
According to C.A.R. AB 1574 is the builder-sponsored response to SB 670 which was created to prohibit these private transfer taxes. Unfortunately SB 670 has been stalled in committee. Meanwhile, AB 1574 has been amended an attempt to legitimize) to limit the tax to 99 years---still sounds like too long to me! Sniff-smells like greed in the air.
What can we do about this? C.A.R. is asking you to call your Senator and ask them to vote NO ON AB 1574. Click here to locate your Senator's contact information.
Remember the Boston Tea Party?---It started over something exactly like this---Taxation without representation!
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