A Raleigh Realtor has complained to the State Board of Elections.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Raleigh Realtor Becky Harper complains about the N.C. Association of Realtors' use of required dues to oppose the transfer tax.

She notes that she is required to be a member of the association to have access to the Multiple Listing Service, which lists real estate for sale.

"I do not believe that it is right that my required fees are used to support direct political action for or against ballot initiatives," she writes.

She also notes that the dues are deductible as a business expense, but the use of them for political purposes may "jeopardize" that deduction.

Harper attached an e-mail and a letter from the association about the use of dues.

Update: Elections Director Gary Bartlett said they will look into the complaint.

"We plan to do due diligence on it," he said.  

* Don Vaughan, Paul Gibson, Melvin "Skip" Alston also mentioned as possible replacements for state Sen. Kay Hagan in legislature. (Capital Beat)

* N.C. Association of Realtors and N.C. Home Builders Association are spending at least $441,000 to finance 15 local groups fighting transfer taxes. (Char-O)

 * U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has gone through a six-week crash course on veterans' issues since taking over committee spot from Sen. Larry Craig. (Politico)

* U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick and three other former Charlotte mayors urge voters not to overturn half-cent sales tax for public transit. (Char-O)

The N.C. Association of County Commissioners is training the troops.

At a day-long seminar, the association told 120 local officials from 45 counties how to fight a local ballot battle for a transfer tax.

Counties can't spend taxpayer money in support of referenda, but county commissioners can stump for them on their own dime. 

Sixteen counties, including Chatham, Johnston and possibly Orange, will ask voters to approve a new tax on the 0.4 percent tax on real estate sales.

The N.C. Association of Realtors is partnering with local groups to fight the measures. (N&O) 

Has your family hit the limit when it comes to new taxes?

That was a question in a recent poll by Brad Crone and Chris Sinclair, a Democratic and a Republican consultant who hope to sell subscriptions to their new polling service.

Alert reader bnartist questioned the question, noting that Crone had recently used it in a poll for the N.C. Association of Realtors, which opposed a local-option transfer tax.

Crone said the question came from a focus group in January.

"A guy was sitting there and he said, 'My family has hit the limit when it comes to new taxes,'" Crone recalled.

He said that he has since used the question in two statewide polls because it helps him judge "the tax factor" in people's thinking on an issue.

Also: Crone sent Dome the crosstabs on the Democratic gubernatorial race, which some readers had contested. Polling geeks, have at it!

Against the odds, a transfer tax is in the budget deal.

The N.C. Association of Realtors spent nearly $600,000 campaigining against the tax on home sales, appealing to the public through ads as well as legislators from swing districts.

But the final budget deal reached last night includes an option for counties to levy a tax of .2 percent to .6 percent of the sales price. That would be from $400 to $1,200 on a $200,000 home.

The catch: Voters must approve the new tax in a referendum.

Although some counties have gotten approval that way, Washington County has had two failed referenda on the issue, and Realtors will likely fight any local votes as hard as they did this deal.

The budget also allows counties to raise the local sales tax by a quarter-cent. Surveys show that the public prefers sales tax hikes over other taxes, perhaps because it feels more voluntary.

Realtors are borrowing a page from the anti-incentives crowd.

A survey for the N.C. Association of Realtors test-drives some arguments about corporate incentives while seeking to measure opposition to a transfer tax on home sales.

The poll of 504 likely general election voters by Telephone Strategies Group of Chicago was conducted between July 22 and 24.

One question notes that local governments gave "nearly $400 million in property tax breaks" to lure businesses to the state. A follow-up asks if voters "should not be forced to pay higher taxes" while government gives breaks to big business.

Not surprisingly, about 63 percent of respondents agreed with the statement.

The margin of error was 4.37 percent.

Gov. Mike Easley signed an executive order funding public schools and the pre-school program More at Four.

In a noon news conference, Easley said he was not confident legislators would have a budget ready by early next week - at least not one he could sign. School districts need money to hire teachers and applications to More at Four are up, Easley said, so he had to get funding in place.

Easley wants the legislature to figure out how to take over counties' Medicaid costs, and the House and Senate have not yet agreed to a solution.

House Democrats want counties to be able to increase the local sales tax or impose a land transfer tax in exchange for the state taking back part of the sales tax revenue local governments now control.

The Senate won't go along with the transfer tax option. 

Easley weighed in on the House side.

"I think a lot of them are scared of the Realtors," Easley said of the legislators. "They have to decide - do they want to stand with the Realtors or do they want to stand with the people they represent?"

The latest lobbying reports show that the N.C. Association of Realtors has spent another $109,000 on lobbying and advertising campaigns largely aimed at stopping lawmakers from giving voters the opportunity to adopt a land transfer tax. The reports also show that a partnership of public officials and businesses has also spent serious money on the other side.

The Partnership for North Carolina's Future spent over $400,000 on advertising, polling and consulting, according to its latest report. A couple of the groups that are a members of the partnership, the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and greenspace advocate Land for Tomorrow have also spent $138,000 or more, according to lobbying reports. Land for Tomorrow lists a $200,000 payment to the partnership for its "publicity ad campaign," money that has yet to be spent on lobbying or advertising.

Read more after the jump.

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The N.C. Association of Realtors has spent a half million dollars opposing a transfer tax.

The 42,000-member association has led a multimedia ad campaign against what it calls the "N.C. Home Tax" — a .4 percent increase in the tax on a home sale.

That includes more than $13,000 in newspaper ads last week praising a dozen House members who opposed the tax. 

Several lawmakers said they fear they'll be the target of negative ads if they vote for it.

"It's scaring the heck out of a lot of them," said Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, a Democrat from Orange County who supports the tax as a way to pay for surging growth in population and development, particularly in urban counties. (AP)

A lobbyist for the Realtors said that the public opposes the tax once it's explained. (GN-R)