A regional Cape Cod governing body has approved sending a petition to the State House to decide whether Barnstable County towns should have the power to enact a controversial transfer tax on home sales over $1 million.
The Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates signed off on the local real estate transfer tax, and it’s now in the hands of the legislature, which faces other similar petitions statewide.
Scores of local Cape Codders, however, say the measure won’t solve the region’s housing problem, arguing that county and town boards should focus on issues that have sparked the crisis, such as those with zoning and wastewater.
The Assembly of Delegates, consisting of one elected member from each of the 15 Cape Cod towns, approved the real estate transfer tax last week with a 10-5 vote. A delegate’s vote, though, is based on how much their individual town contributes to the county’s total population.
Cape Codders who spoke with the Herald after the vote pointed out how the measure passed by the “thinnest of margins,” with 51.4% of the region in favor and 48.6% opposed.
If state lawmakers take up the home rule petition and approve it, residents in each town would then have to adopt the tax at Town Meeting and a subsequent town election.
Participating towns would have the power to set the rate between 0.5% and 4% on the portion of a home sale price above the $1 million threshold. County officials estimate the tax to generate up to $60 million annually for affordable housing initiatives.
Richard Waystock, a 40-year realtor in Harwich who owns five rental properties, pointed out how Barnstable County already has the highest deed excise tax in Massachusetts.
The county charges $3.24 per $500 of the transaction, per state deed indexing standards.
Of the roughly 200 sales in the mid-Cape town last year, 60 were over $1 million, Waystock told the Herald. “These are not wealthy people selling,” he said. “That’s just the cost of housing on the Cape.”
“And the bottom line is we still have issues that have to be rectified,” Waystock said of the home rule petition. “You can throw money at housing, but it is not the solution.”
Dan Gessen, a Falmouth delegate who serves as the Assembly’s deputy speaker, highlighted the measure in a social media post on Saturday.
“Working Cape Codders can’t compete with second-home cash offers,” said Gessen, who has worked as a policy aide in the state Legislature and past campaigns for state Sen. Julian Cyr. “Cape Cod towns are leading with creative solutions to our housing crisis—from workforce housing to year-round deed restrictions.”
Barnstable County would collect the revenue generated by the tax before returning 90% of it to the 15 individual towns, allowing local governments to use the funds to buy land to support year-round housing, impose deed restrictions, or offer financial assistance to qualified buyers.
County officials would use the remaining 10% to support…
Read More: Real estate transfer tax sparks outrage across Cape Cod as petition heads
