A recent letter in my local paper made a startling accusation:
Health care bill includes steep real estate sales tax
I have just learned that Obamacare, starting in 2013, will impose a 3.8 percent sales tax on all real estate sales, except for owner-occupants who have lived in the home for two years out of the last five. Unless changed, they will get a $250,000 or $500,000 exemption.
In Hawaii, with our average house sales price over $500,000, this new tax will mean every property owner, except those qualifying for the above exemption, will have to pay a tax of $19,000 or more when they sell their property. This is outrageous.
My spidey sense of right-wing viral lies started tingling as soon as I read this letter. Maybe it was the use of "Obamacare." Maybe it was the unlikelihood of having this startling accusation revealed not in a news article, but in a ranting letter. Maybe it was just the poor writing.
In any case, a quick Google search revealed that the accusation is a lie - which has been circulating for months via Twitter and e-mail.
Below the fold, I'll provide links to excerpts from refutations of the lie by the National Association of Realtors, the Tax Foundation, and the ever-reliable Snopes.
National Association of Realtors
Q-14: Is there a real estate "sales tax" or a transfer tax in the new health care bill?
A: No. There is neither a real estate "sales tax" nor a real estate transfer tax in the bill.
Tax Foundation
[T]here is no "sales" tax on home sales in the health care bill. The bill would impose essentially a capital gains taxes on some home sales made by a limited number of taxpayers.
Snopes
[T]he 3.8% Medicare tax has been frequently misreported as amounting to a 3.8% "sales tax" on all real estate transactions. This is incorrect: the Medicare tax is not a sales tax, nor does it apply to all real estate transactions; it is a tax on investment income (income which may or not derive from the sale of property) for persons who earn more than the amounts specified in the bill . . .
. . .
"Most people who sell their homes will not be impacted . . ."
The lie is obviously intended to embarrass pro-healthcare legislators. Thanks for anything you can do to help set the record straight if you see this lie repeated between now and election day.