Connecticut Protests Over Real Estate Conveyance Tax

Update: Breaking News Jennifer Buchanan, a mortgage loan officer and broker in Westport, CT, just reported that the conveyance tax bill has been killed in the state legislature today. State senator Edward Meyer (D-Guilford), co-chairman of the senate environmental committee, said that he did not expect the bill to pass due to bad timing but stated that he would reintroduce it in the next session. More to follow as more information becomes available

If you live in Connecticut, then you could be paying up to 1 percent more on any property transaction of more than $150,000 in the near future if a new bill makes it into the state budget [1]. The legislation is designed to “help create sustainable communities” by providing funds for local municipalities to “buy up vacant land, implement energy-conservation programs, remediate brownfields and preserve historic sites.” The conveyance tax would be an option for municipalities rather than mandated. Sellers in Connecticut already pay conveyance taxes of up to 2.25 percent depending on the area of the state in which they buy. This new tax would add another 1 percent to the final tally.

Proponents of the bill argue that green communities lose value over time and that this bill helps communities maintain and increase property values. Critics call the idea “crazy” and accuse legislators of not having access “to the real world.” “Less wealthy buyers” may have particular difficulty coming up with the additional funds that would become involved in buying, said CEO of the Eastern Connecticut Association of Realtors John Bolduc, who believes that the additional fees will just add to the flight of young homebuyers from the state.

Do you think that now is the right time to add conveyance fees in Connecticut or anywhere else in the country?

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