Transfer Tax Defeated in Avery County After All

Release date: 02/10/09
Upon further review, North Carolina homeowners remained undefeated with regard to a real estate transfer tax.

On a snowy Tuesday last week in a special election in Avery County, voters failed to pass the measure by 35 votes. The final tally, as certified today by the county’s Board of Elections, was 1,449 opposed versus 1,414 who supported the measure.

Election night results initially indicated that the transfer tax had passed by 25 votes (1,434 for; 1,409 against). But Johnny A. Canupp, chair of the Avery County Board of Elections, said the canvas had caught errors from two precincts. “The canvas of the votes caught the errors,” he said. “We wanted to make sure the total vote is correct.”

The result in Avery County marks the 24th time in 24 attempts statewide that the transfer tax — also known as the Home Tax — has failed. A recent statewide poll shows that 83 percent of the public opposes the tax.

The transfer tax option for counties has been in place since the 2007 legislative session when lawmakers in Raleigh rolled it into the budget bill. Since then, homeowners across the state have fought vigilantly – and successfully – against the tax.

“Homeowners by and large are overwhelmingly against the transfer tax,” said Sandra O’Connor, 2009 president of the NC Association of REALTORS®. “We’ll continue to oppose the real estate transfer tax because it is fundamentally unfair, and has negative implications for homeowners. Basically, it’s a tax for the privilege of selling your own property. It doesn’t impact newcomers, as some proponents claim. It hurts the sellers – many who have lived on their property for years and have paid property taxes all that time.”

In each of the previous 23 elections, the transfer tax was defeated by overwhelming margins. But a snowstorm that gripped the county on Election Day led to a smaller-than-expected voter turnout of only 22 percent. The local grassroots organization that opposed the measure – Avery County Property Owners Against the Transfer Tax – felt the inclement weather contributed to the close vote.

“Some people have asked if there will be a recount,” Canupp said. “Under North Carolina law, a recount can be conducted if the election result is no more than 1 percent; that would mean the difference would have to be 29 votes. The measure failed by 35 votes, so there will be no recount.”