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Realtors raise $2 million to fight tax on home owners and increase political effectiveness

OLYMPIA - The Washington Association of Realtors will raise $2 million to fight taxes on home owners and increase the political effectiveness of the 23,000-member business trade organization. The group has voted to assess members $100 each to fund the organization's outreach and advocacy initiatives, including fighting efforts to increase the real estate excise tax. Half of the one-time assessment will enable the Association to respond quickly to unanticipated political issues; half will fund advocacy for on-going public policy efforts.

At the organization's fall conference, the board of directors of the Washington Association of Realtors voted unanimously for a $100 special assessment to fund these efforts. The Association's Executive Vice President, Steve Francks, said the assessment increase was partly due to the need to support home owners, who are overwhelmingly opposed to increasing the state's real estate excise tax. A recent survey by the Realtors showed that more than 75 percent of Washington home owners opposed the tax increase.

In January, the state Legislature will consider a bill to increase the Real Estate Excise Tax (a tax collected on the sale of every home). Currently, the state collects 1.28 percent and local government collects .5 percent from every sale of property. The proposed local real estate tax increase would add another .65 percent to the sale of property, an average increase of $1,657 on a median-priced home in Washington . Washington 's real estate taxes are already among the highest in the nation.

“The proposed tax increase would tack an extra $1,657 on the sale of median-priced homes,” said Francks. “Home-owners shouldn't be penalized for buying or selling their home. It's simply poor tax policy to take money out of the pockets of people struggling to meet closing costs for a home.”

During the 2005 legislative session, some lawmakers proposed increasing the REET by .625 percent, even though the tax is already among the highest of its kind in the nation. Francks said Realtors opposed and defeated the measure, but there is already a proposal to bring it up again in the 2006 session. The Realtors intend to use the special assessment to oppose any increase in real estate taxes.