Perspectives
This is an important issue and we want you to hear many sides. Unfortunately, many folks only hear the side of this story that the news media choose to tell.
San Antonio REALTORS® fight back on behalf of homeowners
On national tax return day, the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® held a news conference to expose the band-aid approach some area lawmakers and the Bexar County Chief Appraiser are taking on property taxes. SABOR unveiled a 50-state analysis showing that laws requiring homeowners to report what they sold their house for don’t lead to lower property taxes. On the contrary, in most states mandatory sales price disclosure is used as the framework to collect a new sales tax on real estate. ("SABOR revives home price disclosure fight," San Antonio Express-News, April 16, 2009). View PDF
Legislators hear from 2,000 homeowner advocates: Stop sales price disclosue, real estate transfer taxes
Sales price disclosure is a bad idea because it’s almost always the precursor to new sales taxes on real estate, also known as real estate transfer taxes. Nearly 2,000 Texas REALTORS® converged on the Texas Capitol to advocate for homeowners’ rights ("REALTORS® fight transfer tax," myFOXaustin, March 31, 2009). View TV news clip
San Antonio lawmakers fall prey to myths of sales price disclosure
Sadly, lawmakers from San Antonio have chosen to latch onto easy sound bites at the cost of bad public policy when it comes to property appraisals (“Texas needs real appraisal reform,” San Antonio Express-News, Jan. 4, 2009). Their assertions that sales price disclosure is necessary to improve the property appraisal system in Texas are simply incorrect. Find out why and see the better ideas to implement real change in Texas. View PDF
In Texas, we’re glad to be different
Today, Texas is widely recognized as the strongest real estate market in the country, due in large part to statewide policy that promotes business, homeownership, and development. So it’s difficult to understand why some would advocate for sales prices disclosure, simply because other states have it (“Commercial real estate sector facing taxing issue ahead” by Mike W. Thomas, San Antonio Business Journal, Jan. 23, 2009). View PDF
Sales price disclosure is bad public policy, regardless of how many states implement it. It’s also true that, of the states that publicly disclose sales price, more than 90% also have a sales tax on real estate (known as a real estate transfer tax), which Texans resoundingly oppose. Find out why sales prices disclosure doesn’t make sense and learn what you can do to make sure it doesn’t come to Texas.
Disclosure is a bad idea, especially for commercial and high-end homes
Proponents of sales price disclosure often allege that it’s needed because commercial properties and high-end homes cannot be accurately appraised without it (“Disclosure needed for fair taxation,” San Antonio Express-News, Aug. 4, 2008). This is based on a fundamental misunderstanding about how property is valued. View PDF
In the commercial sector, the value of a property is often based on its ability to produce income for the owner (called the income method). As you can imagine, that varies dramatically for each individual buyer based on their unique business model. So, the price paid for the property is almost irrelevant in determining how valuable it is to the owner.
