NC’s Realtors Passing the Bill to Longtime Residents

July, 19, 2007 , by David

NC Realtors are viciously fighting proposed taxes on home purchases. Spending millions on lobbyists because they are worried about the effects on their business. What they don’t tell us as residents is that by avoiding this tax they are passing the bill on to property taxes. The result is that long time residents end up paying for newcomers streets, schools and other local services. It’s disgusting - and it allows developers and realtors to sell new homes but not give back to the greater community.

STOP The NC Home Ticks is a robust blog all about this subject. What’s most interesting is the level at which the special interests in the new homes market are mucking with our government, from planting numerous lobbyists in our capital to delivering talking points to Brad Crone.

On June 27th the NC Association of Realtors added a third lobbyist to its stable of in-house lobbyists. Julie Woodson, formerly with the NC Pork Council, became the sixth person currently registered as lobbying on behalf of the NC Realtors, joining the five homebuilders lobbyists to make a soccer team of 11. Local governments have to come to Raleigh to beg the Legislature for permission to provide the services that the public expects them to deliver, services that realtors and homebuilders need to maintain their profitability. That requires lobbying on behalf of taxpayers. Local governments should not have to compete with corporate lobbyists with both hands tied behind their backs.

Zero to 2.2 Million on STOP The NC Home Ticks