North Dakota Property Transfer Tax Ban Amendment, Measure 2 (2014)

	Total campaign cash ; as of October 16, 2014
Support:	$1,174,106
Opposition:	$0

2014 measures
June 10
	Measure 1
November 4
	Measure 1
	Measure 2
	Measure 3
	Measure 4
	Measure 5
	Measure 6
	Measure 7
	Measure 8
Endorsements
Expenditures

Measure 2
Type	Constitutional amendment
Origin	North Dakota Legislature
Topic	Taxes
Status	Approved

The North Dakota Property Transfer Tax Ban Amendment, Measure 2 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in the state of North Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, where it was approved. The measure prohibited the state and any political subdivision from imposing mortgage, sales or transfer taxes on the mortgage or transfer of real property.^[1]

The amendment was introduced into the North Dakota Legislature as House Concurrent Resolution 3006.^[1]

As of September 2014, 36 states, including bordering Minnesota and South Dakota, imposed transfer taxes. The other 14 did not, and five states, including Montana and Wyoming, had already banned transfer taxes in their state constitutions.^[2]

Election results

North Dakota Measure 2
Result	Votes	Percentage
a Yes	188,283	74.95%
No	60,478	25.05%

Election results via: North Dakota Secretary of State Office

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot text was as follows:^[3]

“

Constitutional Measure No. 2 (House Concurrent Resolution No. 3006, 2013 Session Laws, Ch. 520)

This constitutional measure would create and enact a new section to Article X of the North Dakota Constitution stating, “The state and any county, township, city, or any other political subdivision of the state may not impose any mortgage taxes or any sales or transfer taxes on the mortgage or transfer of real property.”

YES - means you approve the measure stated above.

NO - means you reject the measure stated above.^[4]

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article X, North Dakota Constitution

Upon its approval, Measure 2 added a new section to Article X of the Constitution of North Dakota:^[1]

The state and any county, township, city, or any political subdivision of the state may not impose any mortgage taxes or any sales or transfer taxes on the mortgage or transfer of real property.^[4]

Background

Transfer tax

The League of Women Voters of North Dakota published a voter guide addressing the 2014 ballot measures. In it, the organization explained the concept of a transfer tax:^[5]

“	A transfer tax is a tax imposed by political subdivisions when a person transfers property. As of September 2014, 36 states, including Minnesota and South Dakota, impose transfer taxes. Five states, including Montana and Wyoming, have banned the transfer tax in their state constitutions. North Dakota does not currently have transfer or mortgage taxes. A YES vote would NOT eliminate a current tax, but would prohibit any unit of government from instituting a transfer tax on real estate in the future. (quote)	”
—League of Women Voters of North Dakota

2012 tax measure

In 2012, the group Empower the Taxpayer successfully landed an initiated constitutional amendment addressing taxes on the North Dakota primary election ballot. This measure, also referred to as Measure 2, sought to eliminate property taxes throughout the state. Specifically, the measure required the legislature to replace local governments' property tax income with state tax revenue.^[6] A similar proposal was rejected in 2009 by the North Dakota Legislature.^[7] The 2012 Measure 2 was defeated at the polls by a wide margin of 76.54 percent to 23.46 percent.

Support

The campaign in support of the measure was led by Vote Yes on Measure 2.^[8]

Supporters

Officials

Senate

The following state senators voted to place the amendment on the ballot:^[9]

Note: A yes vote on the amendment merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in Measure 2.

House

The following state representatives voted to place the amendment on the ballot:^[10]

Note: A yes vote on the amendment merely referred the question to voters and did not necessarily mean these legislators approved of the stipulations laid out in Measure 2.

Organizations

North Dakota Libertarian Party^[11]
North Dakota Association of Realtors^[12]
National Association of Realtors^[13]
Bismarck-Mandan Board of Realtors
Fargo-Moorhead Area Association of Realtors
Badlands Association OF Realtors
Grand Forks Area Association of Realtors
Jamestown Association of Realtors
Minot Association of Realtors
Wahpeton-Breckenridge Association of Realtors
Home Builders Association of Fargo-Moorhead

Arguments

A Vote Yes on Measure 2 advertisement.

Vote Yes on Measure 2 provided a "frequently asked questions" section on their website, with arguments in favor of Measure 2. The following is an excerpt from the group's website:

“

WHY DO WE NEED MEASURE 2?

Even with all the property tax relief that North Dakotans have received in recent years, property taxes are still considered high and remain a hot-button issue. North Dakotans remain frustrated about high property taxes.

We need Measure 2 because as property taxes are being reduced, some municipalities already are looking for other sources of revenue to replace them. In one case, it has been suggested that a possible source of funding might be some other “type of property tax,” like a transfer tax.

WHY SHOULD I VOTE YES ON MEASURE 2?

You don't need any more taxes, you already are taxed enough. Measure 2 will prevent government from imposing an additional tax on the sale or transfer of your property. Stop the tax. Vote Yes on Measure 2.
A property transfer tax would make it more expensive for you to buy, sell and transfer property.
The state and political subdivisions in North Dakota already collect enough revenue; they need to learn to spend the money they have wisely.
You don't want the government interfering with your life by adding another tax. No one should create a tax burden for you if you want to transfer property to your children, grandchildren or other family members or if someone wants to transfer property to you.
There are other ways to generate revenue without adding another property tax.
An additional tax would negatively impact homebuyers. Housing prices in the state are rising and added taxes would make it more difficult for young people who are first time homebuyers and older people looking to downsize to afford homes and other property.^[4]

”

—Vote Yes on Measure 2^[14]

Other arguments in favor of the measure included:

The North Dakota Association of Realtors encouraged voters to approve Measure 2. Realtor Dave Lanpher explained this type of tax would make it more difficult for people to afford to buy a home and noted that residents "already pay property tax." Lanpher said, "Enough is enough when it comes to taxes."^[15]

Campaign contributions

Supporters had received $1,174,106 in contributions as of October 16, 2014. The sole reported contributor to the campaign was the North Dakota Association of Realtors.^[16]

PAC info:

PAC	Amount raised	Amount spent
Vote Yes on Measure 2	$1,174,106	$894,259
Total	$1,174,106	$894,259

Top 10 contributors:

Donor	Amount
North Dakota Association of Realtors	$1,174,106

Opposition

There was no organized opposition to Measure 2, according to the North Dakota Chamber of Commerce's 2014 Voter Guide.^[17]