What Evanston residents should know about Transfer Taxes
Evanston’s elected officials want to boost property taxes — again. This time, they are using a ploy to make some apartment dwellers and commercial property owners take on the burden of having to pay more. Transfer Taxes are imposed by a municipality at closing and can significantly add to the cost of selling private property.
What Evanston’s Proposal Would Do
Evanston voters will have a final say on a proposed transfer tax in November. Here’s a look at the proposal.
The Transfer Tax Now
A property sale in Evanston brings with it a Transfer Tax on a seller of $5 per thousand dollars. That means the seller of a $200,000 home sale would pay $1,000 on top of all the other taxes and fees he or she are expected to pay.
What Would Change?
Evanston would increase the Transfer Tax to $7 per thousand dollars for properties between $1.5-5 million, and $9 per thousand dollars for properties which sell for more than $5 million. That means, for example, the seller of a $6 million apartment complex would have to come up with an additional $54,000.
The dangers of Evanston’s Transfer Tax Scheme
City's residents hit hard
Evanston residents already pay big Transfer Tax billsEvanston property owners among highest taxed in state
Illinois residents pay among the highest property taxes in the nation, and Evanston’s proposal would make the city the North Shore community with the highest transfer tax. In fact, Evanston would have the fifth highest transfer tax in the state!
A Massive Increase
Tax rate would surge whopping 80 percent for some property ownersHigh tax bills could stall development
A Transfer Tax increase of nearly 80 percent for some large properties in Evanston will create a huge disincentive for large-scale commercial and residential development. Renters get hit particularly hard because Cook County already taxes larger apartment complexes at a higher rate.
Who pays? You Pay
High Transfer Taxes will be passed on to consumersApartment dwellers may get hit by increase
Evanston officials say a transfer tax increase could raise $850,000 a year. But the better way to look at this is that city residents will be $850,000 poorer because of yet another tax hike. Business owners will have no choice but to pass on increases to consumers if the Transfer Tax passes.
Information on this Important Property Owner Issue
Transfer taxes are assessed when a property is transferred/sold. Most of the time, sellers pay. In some communities, buyers are hit with the tax. Learn more about how Transfer Taxes can affect you and what communities have the taxes by downloading this free overview.
What can I do?
Evanston voters get a chance to tell Evanston officials have the chance to vote on this bad policy Nov. 6. That’s because city officials have placed a referenda about Transfer Taxes on the ballot.