A testifier told the Joint Committee on Revenue that the Commonwealth should create a graduated deed excise tax on high-value property transfers to fund affordable housing production. "Our commonwealth is in the middle of a housing crisis," the representative said, urging the committee to report favorably on the measure cited in testimony as "house bill 303227078."

The testifier framed the proposal as a narrowly targeted revenue source for affordable housing, saying it would ask "those at the very top end of the real estate market...to contribute slightly more" while not being "a tax for the working family, on our seniors, or on our first-time homebuyers." He said the measure would dedicate revenue to affordable housing production and argued similar taxes in other jurisdictions had not collapsed markets. "Graduated deed and transfer taxes do not collapse markets," the testifier said, citing New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco examples.

Committee members and chairs presided over the hybrid hearing; the testifier spoke during the bills portion and encouraged written testimony for longer comments. The committee's process rules were reviewed at the start of the hearing, including three-minute oral testimony limits and an option to submit written testimony to staff.

The testimony tied the proposal to the broader 2024 Affordable Homes Act, which the testifier said "authorized over $55,000,000,000" in spending through 2029; he positioned the deed tax as a follow-up source of sustained revenue dedicated to housing. He also referenced other jurisdictions that use progressive transfer taxes and local transfer fees to raise housing revenue.

No committee votes or formal actions on this bill were recorded in the hearing transcript. The discussion at the hearing was testimony only; committee members did not make a public decision on the measure during the session.

The representative closed by asking the committee to report the cited bill favorably so the Legislature can advance housing priorities in the Commonwealth.