Provincetown voters approve transfer tax

Those moving into new homes in Provincetown, Massachusetts, can expect to pay a bit more when they purchase their new property.

At a special town meeting Monday night, residents passed a new measure, 60 to 52, that would impose a 0.5 percent tax on homebuyers that purchased real estate in the town, reported the Cape Cod Times. Proceeds from the tax would go to the city and would be put aside for infrastructure and community improvements, such as new roads, said the report. Petitioner Barbara Rushmore proposed the tax and told the paper that it could generate an extra $500,000 per year for the town, a valuable sum that could help fix some of the town's bumpy roads.

Opponents said imposing a town real estate tax could discourage homebuyers from moving to the town and called it unnecessary given a similar county tax. At the same time, first-time buyers could pass on paying the tax if they chose, Rushford told the paper, and she said the funds were needed for a handful of capital improvements.

Communities around the country have reacted to similar real estate taxes imposed on relocating homebuyers. In fact, residents in Missouri took to the polls last week and voted in favor of an amendment to the state constitution that would prohibit any community from adopting such a tax - even though no such tariff has been proposed.
 

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