Latest news with #TaylorSwiftTax
Time of India
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Rhode Island targets Taylor Swift with new tax bill — days after human remains found near her mansion where she hopes to raise family with Travis Kelce
Rhode Island 'Taylor Swift Tax' (Getty Images) Just as Taylor Swift was preparing to turn her $17 million Watch Hill mansion into a dream family home with Travis Kelce , Rhode Island lawmakers are considering introducing a new tax bill that could cost the global superstar a hefty annual sum. The proposal, unofficially dubbed the 'Taylor Swift Tax,' comes amid swirling headlines — including the grim discovery of human remains near her seaside property. ' Taylor Swift tax ' gains traction in Rhode Island: Here's what it means for high-end homeowners On May 14, 2024, remains were found along the shoreline in Watch Hill, not far from Swift's sprawling estate known as 'Holiday House.' On June 13, South Kingstown Police confirmed the remains were identified as 31-year-old Eric Wein of Massachusetts. While unrelated to Swift directly, the unsettling event cast a somber mood over a location the singer has often called her 'sanctuary.' Adding to the tension, a new bill introduced in Rhode Island's budget aims to impose a 'non-owner-occupied property tax' on luxury homes valued above $1 million that sit empty for more than half the year. Despite not being named directly, Swift has become the poster face of the bill, thanks to her high-profile presence in the state. The proposed law would charge homeowners $2.50 for every $500 of assessed value beyond the first million dollars, potentially costing Swift an additional $136,000 annually. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses Indonesia (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search Ads Search Now Undo Swift's Rhode Island mansion — the most expensive private residence in the state — was purchased in 2013 for $17.75 million. The colonial-style estate has become legendary for its star-studded Independence Day parties and was immortalized in her hit track 'The Last Great American Dynasty.' Today, the property is undergoing a $1.7 million renovation that includes a new bedroom suite, updated kitchen, and added guest space — all part of her plans to build a future with Kelce. Spanning over five acres with a 700-foot stretch of private beach, a pool house, and grand patios, the estate remains one of Swift's favorite escapes. She was last seen there in August 2024, unwinding with Kelce and friends after wrapping up the European leg of her Eras Tour. Yet, the so-called Taylor Swift Tax has sparked controversy. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors has voiced strong opposition, arguing the measure could hurt an already strained housing market. Critics worry that, while aimed at the wealthiest homeowners, the bill could ripple through the broader real estate ecosystem, making it harder for everyday buyers and sellers. If the legislation is signed by Governor Dan McKee, even the Ocean State's biggest pop star might face a financial 'cruel summer' — just not the one she wrote about. Also Read: Is Travis Kelce ready for Hollywood? Veteran actor Christopher McDonald thinks so after Chiefs star's 'Happy Gilmore 2' cameo Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What's the 'Taylor Swift Tax'? How Rhode Island proposal could impact the star
Taylor Swift soon may be required to pay a hefty amount of taxes on her New England home, which is undergoing renovations, if a proposed tax act in Rhode Island goes through. Earlier this month, Rhode Island's House Finance Committee approved the state's 2026 budget, which includes a tax that targets high-end, vacant properties in the state. The "Non-Owner Occupied Property Tax Act," deemed the "Taylor Swift Tax," proposes a statewide tax rate for non-primary residences valued at more than $1 million. If passed, the act would tax properties, which are not the primary residences of their owners, valued more than $1 million. As Rhode Island's House of Representatives continues to work through the budget bill, here's what to know about the proposal and how it may impact the superstar's wallet. The proposed act would mean that "non-owner occupied" homes, or secondary residences, valued more than $1 million, would be taxed at $2.50 for each $500 of assessed value. For example, a property assessed at $1.2 million would see an annual tax of $1,000 and a property at $2 million would have a $5,000 annual tax, New England law firm Pierce Atwood explained in a blog post. The total value of the property is not taxed, just the value that exceeds $1 million. So how much would Swift potentially be taxed? When she purchased the house in 2013, it was worth about $17 million, but the property value has increased over the last decade. Zillow lists the property at $28.1 million, meaning it would be taxed at about $135,500 annually. The budget bill passed through the state's House Finance Committee days before authorities identified the remains of 31-year-old Eric Wein on Swift's property, shared by the South Kingstown Police Department on June 13. Wein's remains had washed ashore in an enclave on Swift's property on May 14. Taylor Swift's home: Human remains found near Taylor Swift's Rhode Island home have been identified The "Non-Owner Occupied Property Tax Act" has not been passed yet. As of June 11, the state's 2026 budget bill, which includes the act, was passed in the House Finance Committee. As of June 26, it is under review of the House of Representatives as a whole. If passed, the tax would affect properties on and after July 1, 2026, the state's budget bill reads. If passed, the tax would affect owners of residential properties who own a property that does not serve as their primary residence, valued at $1 million or more as of Dec. 31 of the tax year. The owner would not live at the property the majority of days out of the year. While the tax may be imagined for wealthy folks like Swift, Rhode Island natives could also be impacted by the tax, Stephen MacGillivray, a Pierce Atwood partner, told USA TODAY. "Rhode Island's a strange state where people in the northern part of the state have a summer house 40 minutes away ... often handed down from generation to generation. Those sometimes modest homes are now quite often worth more than $1 million, so there's concern that this is going to hit Rhode Islanders." The tax would not affect owners of rental properties that have been rented within the past 183 days, the budget bill states. MacGillivray said this exception may lend itself to an "interesting loophole." "You can imagine people coming up with all sorts of arrangements from legitimate to not so legitimate, where by they rent their house while they're not there," he said. High-end properties that are not an owner's primary residence can have an affect on their neighborhoods, city and state at large, the budget bill states. These property owners may not have a "vested" interest in the community their property is within and often, these properties remain "deliberately" vacant. MacGillivray said some believe these vacant properties are an eyesore in a vibrant community at the budget bill states that vacant properties often are in greater demand of police and fire protection. This story was updated to clarify where Taylor Swift's Rhode Island home is located. and correct typos. Contributing: Jay Stahl, USA TODAY Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Taylor Swift Tax': Rhode Island housing policy could impact singer Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
USA Today
2 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
What's the 'Taylor Swift Tax'? How Rhode Island proposal could impact the star
Taylor Swift's Cape Cod home is reportedly worth about $28.1 million. If the proposal passes, she would be required to pay about $135,500 in taxes annually. Taylor Swift soon may be required to pay a hefty amount of taxes on her Cape Code home, which is undergoing renovations if a proposed tax act in Rhode Island goes through. Earlier this month, Rhode Island's House Finance Committee approved the state's 2026 budget, which includes a tax that targets high-end, vacant properties in the state. The "Non-Owner Occupied Property Tax Act," deemed the "Taylor Swift Tax," proposes a statewide tax rate for non-primary residences valued at more than $1 million. If passed, the act would tax properties, which are not the primary residences of their owners, valued more than $1 million. As Rhode Island's House of Representatives continues to work through the budget bill, here's what to know about the proposal and how it may impact the superstar's wallet. What is the so-called 'Taylor Swift Tax'? The proposed act would mean that "non-owner occupied" homes, or secondary residences, valued more than $1 million, would be taxed at $2.50 for each $500 of assessed value. For example, a property assessed at $1.2 million would see an annual tax of $1,000 and a property at $2 million would have a $5,000 annual tax, New England law firm Pierce Atwood explained in a blog post. The total value of the property is not taxed, just the value that exceeds $1 million. So how much would Swift potentially be taxed? When she purchased the house in 2013, it was worth about $17 million, but the property value has increased over the last decade. Zillow lists the property at $28.1 million, meaning it would be taxed at about $135,500 annually. The budget bill passed through the state's House Finance Committee days before authorities identified the remains of 31-year-old Eric Wein on Swift's property, shared by the South Kingstown Police Department on June 13. Wein's remains had washed ashore in an enclave on Swift's property on May 14. Taylor Swift's Cape Cod home: Human remains found near Taylor Swift's Rhode Island home have been identified When would the tax act go into effect? The "Non-Owner Occupied Property Tax Act" has not been passed yet. As of June 11, the state's 2026 budget bill, which includes the act, was passed in the House Finance Committee. As of June 26, it is under review of the House of Representatives as a whole. If passed, the tax would effect properties on and after July 1, 2026, the state's budget bill reads. Who would the tax affect? If passed, the tax would effect owners of residential properties who own a property that does not serve as their primary residence, valued at $1 million or more as of Dec. 31 of the tax year. The owner would not live at the property the majority of days out of the year. While the tax may be imagined for wealthy folks like Swift, Rhode Island natives could also be impacted by the tax, Stephen MacGillivray, a Pierce Atwood partner, told USA TODAY. "Rhode Island's a strange state where people in the northern part of the state have a summer house 40 minutes away ... often handed down from generation to generation. Those sometimes modest homes are now quite often worth more than $1 million, so there's concern that this is going to hit Rhode Islanders." A potential renting loophole The tax would not affect owners of rental properties that have been rented within the past 183 days, the budget bill states. MacGillivray said this exception may lend itself to an "interesting loophole." "You can imagine people coming up with all sorts of arrangements from legitimate to not so legitimate, where by they rent their house while they're not there," he said. Why did Rhode Island propose the tax act? High-end properties that are not an owner's primary residence can have an affect on their neighborhoods, city and state at large, the budget bill states. These property owners may not have a "vested" interest in the community their property is within and often, these properties remain "deliberately" vacant. MacGillivray said some believe these vacant properties are an eyesore in a vibrant community at the budget bill states that vacant properties often are in greater demand of police and fire protection. Contributing: Jay Stahl, USA TODAY Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Business
- Newsweek
Rhode Island Considers 'Taylor Swift Tax'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. A new bill that would introduce higher taxes on luxury second homes in Rhode Island, nicknamed the "Taylor Swift Tax" after the Pennsylvania-born superstar, is causing quite a stir. If enacted, the proposal would impose an additional charge on owners of luxury homes worth more than $1 million in Rhode Island who do not use them as their primary residences, including Swift, who owns the most expensive home in the state—the High Watch estate. The singer-songwriter purchased the property in Watch Hill, a historic district in Westerly—which has a total of seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms—back in 2013 for $17.75 million. Since then, she has hosted high-profile, star-studded Independence Day parties in the colonial-style historic mansion, which inspired the song "The Last Great American Dynasty," included in Swift's 2020 Folklore album. Newsweek contacted the Rhode Island Association of Realtors and Taylor Swift's publicist for comment by email on Tuesday. What To Know About The 'Taylor Swift Tax' Under the budget proposal—officially called the non-owner-occupied tax—owners of homes worth more than $1 million in Rhode Island that sit empty for over half of the year (more than 183 days) would pay an annual fee of $2.50 for every $500 of the home's value above $1 million. That means that Swift, who owns seven homes across the country including in New York City, Beverly Hills and Nashville, would have to pay an additional $136,000 a year in taxes should this proposal be approved. Homes worth more than $1 million which are rented out for most of the year would not be subject to the surcharge. Luxury homes in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Luxury homes in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Getty Images data shows that the proposal would have a relatively big impact on the Rhode Island housing market. Listings for homes worth more than $1 million have more than doubled in the Ocean State over the past six years, going from 10.7 percent of all homes for sale in 2019 to 22.3 percent in mid-2025. Between January and May, about one in five homes on the market in Rhode Island were priced above $1 million. Investment in second homes has also increased over the past decade in the Ocean State: according to just 3.76 percent of home loans in Rhode Island were issued for second homes, while investment property purchases accounted for 4.1 percent of all loans. In 2021, 5.25 percent of home loans in the state were issued for second homes, while in 2024 8.1 percent were issued for investment properties. Why Lawmakers Say The Bill Is Needed—And Why Real Estate Experts Are Skeptical While the bill's supporters say that the measure will help increase housing affordability in the state, which has dropped dramatically in the years following the pandemic, critics say the move would discourage high-end vacation homebuyers and potentially have a chilling effect on the local market. "Please, don't take from our housing market at the moment to balance the budget for other items, it's going to be detrimental," Chris Whitten, president of the Rhode Island Association of Realtors, said in comments shared with NBC 10 News. According to Hannah Jones, senior economist at the "Taylor Swift Tax" could have "a variety of impacts," on the Rhode Island market. "High net worth households may just pay the tax, while other longtime owners may consider short-term leasing of their property to get around the higher tax assessment," she said in a recent press release. "It is possible that some owners would sell, but others may exhaust other options before letting go of their high-dollar real estate." Watch Hill realtor Larry Burns told the Daily Mail that the so-called tax "is going to discourage people from buying second homes [in Rhode Island] because of the added expense" and harm tourism to the state. "There's people like Taylor Swift—people will look at her and think, 'Well, she has so much money she'll never even notice an increase like this.' But it's not like the residents here have inexhaustible resources," Burns said. "$100,000 here might be college education for the year for a kid, or two kids." The proposal would also hurt "older folks or multigenerational properties where the siblings have inherited the property," Burns said. "If you keep adding expenses people end up selling because they can't keep up with the cost." Another Proposal Affecting Rhode Island Homeowners Rhode Island lawmakers are also considering increasing the conveyance tax—a fee paid by sellers during home sales. The proposal would raise the rate from $2.30 to $3.75 per $500 of sale price, a 63 percent hike. Using Zillow's current median home price in Rhode Island of about $492,939, the typical conveyance tax payment would rise from $2,200 to approximately $3,700, according to WFLA calculations. Lawmakers supporting the bill said that the money raised by the two proposals would go into funding affordable housing projects in Rhode Island. But several industry insiders and experts have voiced their opposition: the Rhode Island Association of Realtors has argued against both proposals, saying that they will have a detrimental impact on the local market, chilling demand and further tightening inventory in the state. What Happens Next The "Taylor Swift Tax" was greenlit as part of the proposed $13.9 billion state budget by the Rhode Island House of Representatives on June 18 with a 66 to 9 vote, and is now with the Senate. A final vote on the budget is expected by this summer. If approved and signed into law by the state's governor, the new taxes could take effect as early as July 2026.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Taylor Swift tax' proposed in Rhode Island
(NewsNation) — Rhode Island officials have shared their latest budget proposals, with one being unofficially referred to as a 'Taylor Swift tax' on second or seasonal homes. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors has raised concerns that the proposed changes, which would also reportedly increase a seller's fee by 63 percent overall, would hit both home sellers and buyers, potentially making the market more unaffordable. National parks may impose surcharge on some visitors in 2026: budget proposal The association's president, Chris Whitten, told NBC 10 News, 'Please, don't take from our housing market at the moment to balance the budget for other items, it's going to be detrimental.' The budget proposals are specifically targeting the high-end vacation homes. The unofficially named 'Taylor Swift tax' would put a new surcharge on second homes that are worth over $1 million. If this proposal is approved, it would add an additional fee for owners of nonprimary residences that are empty for over half the year. That annual fee would be $2.50 for every $500 of value that is above the $1 million mark. So, a home that is $2.5 million and sits empty for over half the year could have an extra $7,500 in taxes each year. For Swift's Watch Hill estate, she could owe an additional $136,000 a year in taxes. Swift purchased that estate, which is three floors with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, in 2013 for $17.75 million. She has been known to have celebrities over for parties, including her Fourth of July parties. Called the Westerly Mansion, the home built in 1904 was also the inspiration for one of the songs on Swift's 2020 'Folklore' album, 'The Last Great American Dynasty.' The other proposal would affect what sellers have to pay during closing. The conveyance tax would go from $2.30 to $3.75 for every $500, which would be a 63 percent increase. According to Zillow, the average selling price of a home in Rhode Island is around $492,939. With the new rate, the tax would go from $2,200 to $3,700. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
