Opponents of the proposed buyer’s excise tax in Clallam County have at least a 4-to-1 fundraising advantage over supporters, with a bulging bank account being filled by state and national groups opposed to the surcharge on real estate transactions.
Campaign finance records show that Stop Taxing the American Dream, the organization opposing the tax, raised $85,350 through Sept. 26.
Clallam Citizens for Food Security, meanwhile, has raised about $18,000 to promote the ballot measure that would create a fund to preserve farmland and open space.
Clallam County voters will decide Nov. 8 whether to place a half of 1 percent tax on the purchase price of property.
If approved, the tax would raise about $2.7 million a year to buy conservation easements and would sunset after 10 years.
The proposal has ignited spirited opposition from real estate groups, who say that the tax — about $1,000 on the purchase of a $200,000 home — would erect a barrier to low-income, first-time and senior home buyers, and further increase the escalating price of property.
Of the money raised by Stop Taxing the American Dream, $75,000 — about 88 percent — came from the Washington Association of Realtors, a lobbying group based in Olympia.
The Sequim Association of Realtors contributed $7,500, the Port Angeles Realtors association kicked in $3,750 and $100 came from Sequim Mayor Walt Schubert, who runs a property management company.
Steve Klaniecki, the state group’s communications director, said the National Association of Realtors is also expected to contribute to the campaign.
