Question: Does the proposed transfer tax apply to all area home sales?
Answer: No. The tax would apply only to homes with the city limits that sell for more than $750,000.


Question: Will the tax be levied annually?
Answer: No. It's a point-of-sale tax, which means it applies only when a home is sold.

Question: Would the buyer or the seller pay the tax?
Answer: The city ordinance says the tax shall be imposed on the purchaser.

Question: What is workforce housing?
Answer: This is defined in the ordinance as housing for households "with at least one full-time worker who earns between the living wage and the amount needed to afford to live in the area."

Question: What will the city do with the money collected through the tax?
Answer: The ordinance says the city will use the money for downpayment assistance to homebuyers as well as to acquire vacant land or buildings for housing, to construct or reconstruct housing and maintain affordable housing, to operate "employer housing projects" and/or repay debt incurred for housing projects.

Question: What prevents a homebuyer who gets city assistance from "flipping" the property by reselling it for a profit?
Answer: A variety of city policies are in place at the Housing and Community Development Department to keep units within the housing program over long periods of time. For example, when the city or its nonprofit agent helps a homebuyer with a downpayment, a lien for that amount is placed on the home. If the buyer later sells the house, that lien must be paid off first.

Question: Can the city change the tax amount or threshold for when it applies to a home sale?
Answer: Not without holding another election, according to City Attorney Frank Katz.

Question: What sales or transfers of property would be exempt from the tax?
Answer: Sales of commercial properties or undeveloped land, family transfers, and any home built under an existing affordable-housing agreement are exempt.

Question: If voters approve the tax, when would it take effect?
Answer: The law would take effect 90 days after election day, Katz said.