Business coalition opposes hike in real estate transfer tax [Chicago]
Calling a proposed 40 percent increase in a government fee charged on Chicago home buyers “the wrong tax on the wrong people at the wrong time,” a coalition of real estate agents, home builders and business interests Thursday urged the City Council to delay a vote on the increase scheduled for next week.
“We collectively are asking the CTA to slow down,” said Brian Bernardoni, director of government affairs for the Chicago Association of Realtors.
Bernardoni said the Chicago Transit Authority is pressuring aldermen to make a quick decision when state legislation approved as part of last month’s public transit funding package gives the council six months to enact it. Under the proposal, the city’s transfer tax, paid by property buyers, would increase to $10.50 for every $1,000 of the property sale price from the current fee of $7.50 per $1,000. If imposed on a home that sold for about $250,000, the increase would add roughly $748 to the current transfer tax of $2,244, according to calculations by the association.