Mountain View Moves Forward with Transfer Tax

The Mountain View City Council voted to place a transfer tax increase on the November ballot. The new tax threshold will start at $6 million dollars and those properties below that threshold will continue to pay the $3.30 per $1,000 in value that they currently do. Properties that sell above the $6 million-dollar threshold will now have to pay $15 per $1,000 of value. The new threshold, however, will not be indexed to increase with rising property values and could potentially capture single-family home sales over time.

The council originally made it clear its intent to capture large commercial and industrial property sales. Fear of impacting some single-family homes is what led to increasing the threshold from the originally proposed $5 million. What the council could not entirely agree upon was what to spend the additional revenue on. There appears to be broad consensus that it would help fund a new public safety facility, but others on the council also voiced a desire to pay for parks and other services. However, the funds would go into the city’s General Fund, which ultimately means future City Councils can spend the revenue as they wish.