Greg Sowa

This bill is misguided in its attempt to affect positive change in housing availability by creating a bureaucratic administrative mess, unreasonable tax burden, and infringement on property rights. Doubling property taxes simply because someone has a property they occupy part time or otherwise don't use as their primary residence is not a solution, it's merely a money-grab that something our tax-hungry neighbors to the south would salivate over. It is NOT the Granite State way. Beyond the obvious over-reach and over-taxation, this bill, if enacted as law, would create an undue administrative burden on property owners and government alike. If you want to increase tax revenue from short-term rentals, implement an additional level of tax on the Meals and Rentals tax specific to lodging. This would have the effect of generating additional tax revenue without penalizing those who choose to invest in our communities by owning and improving real estate. Regarding the low and moderate income buyer exemption for transfer tax, I believe that is a nice step in the right direction for encouraging home-ownership, however, the language is clumsy and needs to be tightened up. It should be limited to being a once-in-a-lifetime exemption, designed to help a first-time homebuyer qualify for financing and get on the ownership ladder, and not become a multi-use tax break at the expense of the state's budget.