On the November 2nd Missouri Ballot – Amendment 3

Lee’s Summit, October 30, 2010 – Amendment 3 on the Missouri ballot reads as follows:

Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to prevent the state, counties, and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate?

It is estimated this proposal will have no costs or savings to state or local governmental entities.

In the midst of this economic crisis brought about by the bubble in the housing market created by Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac’s indiscriminate and fiscally irresponsible purchase of mortgages, the addition of a sales tax to the sale or transfer of real property would cause a further burden on the real estate markets.

The state receives Property Taxes currently based on the value of the homes.  While it seldom happens, property valuations for tax purposes can go down.  A sales tax would ignore the profit or loss on the sale of the home, and burden the seller and the buyer with additional costs for the transaction.

There are no current reported plans to institute a sales tax on the transfer or sale of real property, however the proponents of this amendment 3 have found a loophole that the “innovative” tax people can use to find new revenues for the state.

In my opinion Missouri is currently over taxing property by adding a “property tax” to the purchase of a car where you’ve paid “sales tax” on it.  That to me is double taxation and I suspect that at some point the same double taxation mentality would lead some legislature in the future to exploit the opportunity to place a sales tax on the sale of real property.

See you at the polls on November 2^nd.

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Respectfully Submitted,

The Lee’s Summit Conservative