Dear Editor,
I do not know Peter Rinaldi, who recently sent a letter to VTDigger complaining about Vermont property transfer taxes, and I’m sure that he’s a perfectly delightful chap. However, it’s clear to me that he and I come from very different worlds. Unlike Mr Rinaldi, a Florida resident who enjoys living in Vermont six months a year, I’m a generational Vermonter who still lives here. Like Mr Rinaldi, I am also fairly well-to-do and could afford to do as he has done and move to Florida to avoid Vermont taxes, but I choose not to.
He complains that he would have to pay a property transfer tax that applies to out-of-staters if he bought a second home in Vermont. He would prefer not to pay this tax, and it appears he would also prefer not to pay high property taxes. I get it. No one likes to pay taxes. However, we all do like to have our roads maintained, a well-trained police force, our kids educated and so on. The difference between Mr Rinaldi and me is that I pay for these services in Vermont. He does not.
By living six months and a day in Florida, which has no state income tax, he can come to Vermont, buy a home and avoid state income taxes altogether. I know plenty of people who do this, and I understand why. They want to enjoy what Vermont has to offer without having to pay to support our state beyond unavoidable property taxes.
He complains that he would have to pay a property transfer tax of 3.62% that would cost him $8,000 to $12,000. This means he must be looking at property priced between $221,000 and $331,000. The average income for residents of Moretown is $56,000, which would usually qualify them for a home of between $170,000 and $215,000, depending on the size of their down payment. As of early 2026, the median home sale price in Moretown is around $362,000, according to property websites like Realtor.com.
You can see where this is headed. Vermonters struggle to buy a home in their home state, in part because of folks like Mr Rinaldi, who can afford to pay more for a home in Vermont. He fails to see that he is displacing local folks who are stuck here and have no choice but to pay their taxes.
Mr Rinaldi seems perfectly content to let others carry the load. I sympathize with his plight in being forced to pitch in to pay for the Vermont that he says in his letter he “so dearly loves,” but I come down on the side of Vermonters who truly love Vermont for what it is: their real home.
And I’ve been to Florida a few times. You couldn’t pay me to live there.
Bob Stannard
Manchester, Vt.
