Photo: JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP / Getty Images
BOSTON (State House News Service) - Boston is already deploying "everything possible that we could do alone" to address a widespread housing affordability crisis, Mayor Michelle Wu told lawmakers Wednesday as she made the case for allowing the city to further tax high-value real estate sales.
City officials have been pushing for years for state approval to impose a new tax on real estate transfers, whose revenue would be deployed toward creating or preserving more affordable housing.
The latest version, which calls for a 2 percent fee on the portion of Boston property transactions above $2 million, would have generated up to $100 million based on sales that took place in 2021, Wu said at a Revenue Committee hearing.
"We're doing everything we can at the city level," Wu said, detailing steps such as an overhauled zoning code. "But the one powerful tool that remains out of reach without legislative and gubernatorial approval is a transfer fee."
Top House and Senate Democrats have historically been hesitant to embrace real estate transfer taxes, which several other communities besides Boston continue to pursue.
Some real estate industry groups, like the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, remain opposed to the idea of a real estate transfer tax, arguing that it would unnecessarily increase costs and strip equity from buyers and sellers.
Written By Chris Lisinski/SHNS
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