New comments from Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano cast increased doubt on a real estate transfer fee proposal the top Democrat suggested he was open to earlier this spring. The controversial policy idea may be what is holding up the House in taking up Gov. Maura Healey's $4.1 billion housing bond bill, which she filed last October.
Speaker Ron Mariano and Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz answer reporters' questions after caucusing privately with House Democrats on Oct. 17, 2023.
The seller of the property would owe the tax, and proceeds would be deployed toward affordable housing development. Administration officials said that because the money is earmarked specifically for housing, they do not believe the additional fee would hamstring new production. "Once I figured out how it worked, I could see the real benefit to rich communities, and not so many benefits to low-income or middle-income communities," he said.
The language in Healey's bill is a local-option tax, meaning it would require municipal governments to approve it and the extra levy would only apply within the particular city or town. Combined with housing-related tax credits that became law last year, Healey's office estimated the proposals together could lead to creation of more than 40,000 new housing units, chipping away at a shortage that has previously been estimated at roughly 200,000.
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