Chapel Hill NC Real Estate

The Orange County Board of Commissioners recently voted unanimously to put a 0.4 percent land transfer tax on the May primary ballot. Dozens of people at the meeting spoke in opposition to to the transfer tax.   tax. The other revenue option being considered by the Commissioners was a 0.25 percent sales tax increase. According to a poll recently conducted for the County, when asked which tax they would support, 48 percent of respondents said they would support the sales tax compared to only 32 percent for the transfer tax. Nevertheless, the Commissioners placed only the transfer tax on the ballot. It is important to note that the transfer tax is fee placed on home sellers.  Sellers already pay a transfer tax of $2/$1000 of the purchase price.  This measure could increase that tax to as much as $6/$1000 of the purchase price.  Realtors in the area are opposed to this tax because we feel the County needs to do a better job of increasing the commercial tax base rather than placing further tax burden on home sellers.