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Cape Cod committee forwards home‑rule petition to let county collect high‑value transfer fee to fund year‑round housing
Summary
The Assembly’s Economic Affairs committee recommended a home‑rule petition to let the Cape Cod Regional Government collect a county‑level transfer fee on high‑value real‑estate sales. The draft gives towns control over rates and thresholds, would return 90% of revenue to the originating town and retain up to 10% for regional initiatives; the committee voted 4–1 to send the draft to the full assembly.
The Standing Committee on Economic Affairs voted 4–1 on Dec. 10, 2025, to recommend that a nine‑page home‑rule petition authorizing a county‑level high‑value real‑estate transfer fee be filed with the clerk and considered by the full Cape Cod Regional Government Assembly of Delegates.
The draft petition would add an article to the Cape Cod Regional Government charter giving the county authority to collect a transfer fee on conveyances of real property in any participating municipality. Deputy Speaker Dan Gessen, who presented the draft, said the mechanism ‘‘is the engine’’ of the petition because it places the authority to collect the fee in the county charter while leaving rate and exemption choices to each town.
Under the proposal, participating municipalities would adopt an ordinance or bylaw through their legislative body (town meeting in most towns; town council in Barnstable) to join. Municipalities would set a percentage rate between one‑half percent and 4 percent and may choose thresholds higher than the draft’s $1,000,000 floor; only the portion of a sale price above the chosen threshold would be subject to the fee.
The petition specifies permissible uses for the revenue, including…
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