Louisiana Immovable Property Tax, Amendment 1 (2011)

Property Tax Sales
Type	Constitutional amendment
Origin	Louisiana State Legislature
Topic	Taxes
Status	Approveda

The Louisiana Immovable Property Tax, Amendment 1, also known as the Louisiana Real Estate Transfer Tax, was on the November 19, 2011 statewide ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment where it was approved. a

The proposed measure prohibited levying new taxes or fees upon the sale or transfer of immovable property.

At the time of the vote, the State of Louisiana was one of 13 states that did not have real estate transfer taxes. New Orleans was the only parish in the State of Louisiana with a transfer tax. With the approval of the measure, the New Orleans tax was grandfathered and capped at the flat $325 rate for all property transfers. According to reports, the New Orleans tax generated $3.6 million in 2010 and was expected to generate $4.4 million in 2011.

• A "yes" vote on the ballot question meant that there would be no added taxes on real estate transfers and the state constitution would be amended to prohibit such future taxes.
• A "no" vote also would not have implemented taxes on real estate transfers but it would not have implemented a statewide ban.

Election results

Louisiana Amendment 1 (Nov. 19)
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		476,938	80.80%
No		113,326	19.20%

Results via the Louisiana Secretary of State's website with 3,513 out of 4,258 precincts reporting.

Text of measure

The ballot question read:

To prohibit the levy of new taxes or fees upon the sale or transfer of immovable property, including documentary transaction taxes or fees, or any other tax or fee, by the state or any of its political subdivisions after November 30, 2011.

Constitutional changes

Amendment 1 added Article VII, Section 2.3.

The new Article VII, Section 2.3 read:

§2.3. Power to Tax; Limitation; Sale or Transfer of Immovable Property Section 2.3. No new tax or fee upon the sale or transfer of immovable property, including documentary transaction taxes or fees, or any other tax or fee, shall be levied by the state of Louisiana, by a political subdivision whose boundaries are coterminous with those of the state, or by a political subdivision, as defined in Article VI, Section 44(2) of this constitution after November 30, 2011. A documentary transaction is any transaction pursuant to any instrument, act, writing, or document which transfers or conveys immovable property. Fees for the cost of recordation, filing, or maintenance of documents, or records effectuating the sale or transfer of immovable property, impact fees for development of property, annual parcel fees, and ad valorem taxes shall not be considered taxes or fees upon the sale or transfer of immovable property.

Support

Louisiana REALTORS TV Spot supporting Amendment 1 on November 19 ballot, 11-3-2011

Supporters argued that real estate transfer taxes hindered sales and made property purchases less affordable. Additionally, they argued that the taxes and fees weren't reliable for state government budgets due to the fluctuation with the housing market. Supporters also pointed to other states, such as Missouri and Montana, that did not have the transfer tax.

Supporters

• Louisiana REALTORS
• Northeast Louisiana Association of Realtors
• Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (dead link)
• Gov. Bobby Jindal
• Monroe Chamber of Commerce
• National Association of REALTORS
• Louisiana Home Builders Association
• Louisiana Land Title Association
• Greater Shreveport Chamber
• Jefferson Parish Business Council
• Southwest Louisiana Economic Alliance
• GNO, Inc.
• Jefferson Chamber
• Greater Lafayette Chamber
• Bossier Chamber
• Houma-Terrebone Chamber
• Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission

Arguments

• Louisiana REALTORS supported the proposed amendment. "We consider this a proactive step to place it in the constitution and take this off of the table," said Brad Lambert, a lobbyist for the group. Norman Morris, spokesperson for the group said, "If you look at the numbers, a 1 percent transfer tax can mean thousands of dollars. This type of tax is regressive in nature and targets a small group."

• Northeast Louisiana Association of Realtors president Kevin Bayles said, "The average closing cost fees already average $5,000 to $6,000. Any new tax would clearly make it more costly to buy or sell a home."

• Monroe Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors supported the proposed measure. Chamber president Sue Nicholson said, "Not having a transfer tax in Louisiana is certainly an advantage over other states with real estate transfer taxes, especially since the adjacent states of Texas and Mississippi do not have real estate transfer taxes either."

• The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (dead link) said they supported the measure "in an effort to stop any future attempts to raise revenue by taxing real estate, as is becoming the trend in other states."

• Gov. Bobby Jindal, according to his spokesperson, supportedAmendment 1. WAFB cites that a spokesperson for Gov. Bobby Jindal said the administration is in support of the amendment.

Campaign advertising

See also: Louisiana Amendment 1 (2011), television ads

The Louisiana REALTORS released two television ads in November 2011 and a YouTube video in October 2011 of Senior VP Norman Morris explaining the measure and Louisiana REALTORS support.

Donors

According to reports, the Louisiana REALTORS spent an estimated $280,000 in support of the measure.

(last updated December 2011)

Opposition

Opponents argued that the amendment would block future use of transfer taxes should the need arise to generate additional revenue. The provision, some said, may be unnecessary due to current state laws that required a two-thirds vote by the legislature to add a new state tax. Additionally, opponents said that there were other methods to reduce real estate fees such as reducing commissions or attorney fees.

Opponents

• Council for a Better Louisiana
• League of Women Voters of Louisiana
• Louisiana Budget Project

Arguments

• The nonpartisan Council for a Better Louisiana opposed the proposal. They said that "it's hard to imagine any political traction for this type of tax in the foreseeable future" and they did not agree with adding the restriction to the state constitution.
  • Robert Scott, with the council, said, "If this goes into the Constitution there would be no statute that the legislature could pass that would create a real estate transfer tax and local governments couldn't create them either."

• Thetis Cusimano, president of the League of Women Voters of Louisiana said, "Local voters must be able to set their own taxes and fees when they need them, and not be told they cannot assess themselves by the state of Louisiana."
  • Judy Fischer of the League of Women Voters said, "Just leave the constitution the way it is right now. If local governments feel the need to raise revenue with a special real estate tax, they should be able to do that."

• Louisiana Budget Project analyst Tim Mathis said that the measure would "damage the ability of the state and local governments to provide revenue needed to support health care, education and other essential services." Mathis added that parishes need more flexibility in order to cope with decreased revenues.

Donors

According to the state campaign finance database, there are no registered committees (PACs).

(last updated December 2011)

Media editorial positions

Main article: Endorsements of Louisiana ballot measures, 2011

Support

• The Town Talk said, "...in this case, we agree: A "Yes" vote is the right vote. Our reasoning has far more to do with the failures of the state Legislature than with the pros and cons of the tax question on the ballot. The reason this matter is on the ballot is that our lawmakers refuse to do what they are elected to do: be responsible stewards of the public's business...We won't fix that today, but we can prevent lawmakers from getting a new way to take more taxpayer money."
• The Louisiana Weekly said, "This amendment costs the state budget nothing. It simply seeks to prohibit parishes from levying new taxes on the sale of your home or real estate property. (Adds Article VII, Section 2.3 of the State Constitution.)"
• The Shreveport Times said, "While we don't generally believe changes to the state Constitution are advised, we think voters should take this potential power from the Legislature and give Amendment a "Yes" vote."

Opposition

• The Times-Picayune said, "There currently is no state fee on real estate sales or transfers, and the city of New Orleans is the only local government that charges such a fee. It would take a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to levy a transfer tax in most, if not all, cases, according to the Bureau of Governmental Research. That is a fairly high threshold and would give constituents the ability to argue for or against such an effort rather than forbidding it altogether. This amendment is another unnecessary addition to the Constitution, which is already a cluttered document."

Path to the ballot

Taxes on the ballot in 2011

See also: Louisiana legislatively referred constitutional amendments

If 2/3rds of the members of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature voted in the affirmative, a legislatively referred constitutional amendment could be placed on the statewide ballot.

The proposed measure was referred to the Louisiana Secretary of State for referral to the ballot on June 21, 2011.

Timeline

The following is a timeline of events surrounding the measure:

Event	Date	Developments
House vote	May 24, 2011	House voted 101-0 in favor of referring the measure (4 absent)
Senate vote	June 13, 2011	Senate voted 34-0 in favor of referring the measure (5 absent)
Certified	June 21, 2011	Referred and certified for the 2011 ballot

See also

• 2011 ballot measures
• Louisiana 2011 ballot measures

Articles

• Election preview: to ban Louisiana real estate transfer taxes or not

External links

• HB 135 summary (dead link) and full text (dead link)
• League of Women Voters of Louisiana - Voter Guide 2011 Louisiana constitutional amendments
• Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana - Guide to the 2011 Constitutional Amendments

Campaign links

• Vote For Amendment #1: stay tax free (support)
  • On YouTube, Facebook

Additional reading

• WWLTV, "Real estate transfer tax amendment on Nov. 19 Louisiana ballot," November 8, 2011
• The Town Talk, "Amendment seeks a ban on transfer tax," November 8, 2011
• Tri-Parish Times, "Realtors chime in on Amend. 1," November 4, 2011 (dead link)
• Leesville Daily Leader, "Voters to consider lone amendment on Nov. 19 ballot," October 14, 2011
• DailyComet.com, "La. voters to consider six amendments," September 11, 2011
• The Times-Picayune, "Louisiana Constitution amendments on fall ballots include cigarette tax question," July 14, 2011

Editorials

• The Town Talk, "Your Mail: Vote to amend Louisiana Constitution," November 18, 2011
• The Town Talk, "Commentary: Louisiana should not ban a tax that communities may need," November 14, 2011
• Daily World, "Vote for ban on real estate tax," November 13, 2011