Cut spending first

The April 12 article "Fighting a tax on real estate sales" began by saying that "counties should raise property taxes or trim excess spending rather than levy a 1 percent tax on sales of homes and commercial properties to pay for roads and schools, the N.C. Association of Realtors said."

We're not advocating an increase in property taxes. Instead, we're advocating a real change in the way governments think about budgets. Budgets are about setting priorities and sticking to them. While we believe that counties are best poised to make the decisions about which priorities are worth funding, we do not think that the real estate transfer tax, better known as the home tax, is the right way to provide for those priorities.

North Carolina doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. Rather than raiding the equity from North Carolina homes, governments should set clear spending priorities to meet the challenges of growth and maintain our quality of life.

Tim Kent

Executive Vice President, N.C. Association of Realtors

Greensboro