'Taylor Swift Tax' Targets Rhode Island Real Estate Owners With More Closing Taxes And Penalties If They Leave Seasonal Homes Vacant

Rhode Island lawmakers want to balance next year's budget with a pair of real-estate levies that critics have nicknamed the "Taylor Swift tax," citing the pop star's $17 million Watch Hill mansion as an example of who would pay.

What Happened: According to a report by NBC 10 News, the House plan would slap a new surcharge on second or seasonal homes valued above $1 million and raise the statewide conveyance tax that sellers pay at closing by 63%.

Owners of non-primary residences left vacant for more than six months a year would owe an extra $2.50 per $500 of assessed value over the first $1 million. A $2.5 million beach house, for instance, would incur roughly $7,500 annually. Swift's 11,000-square-foot estate could face about $136,000 a year. Supporters say the fee could generate tens of millions for affordable-housing programs and dissuade owners from letting luxury properties stand empty.

The Rhode Island Association of Realtors calls both measures detrimental to a market already squeezed by record prices and 30-year mortgage rates near 7%. “Please, don’t take from our housing market at the moment to balance the budget for other items, it’s going to be detrimental,” association president Chris Whitten told NBC 10.

See also: A New Queen Of Green — Hard-Charging Tech Mogul Replaces Taylor Swift As The World’s Youngest Self-Made Woman Billionaire

Why It Matters: Taylor Swift paid $17.75 million a decade ago for her 11,000-square-foot Watch Hill mansion, now slated for a 400-square-foot expansion, but the Rhode Island estate is only one piece of a sprawling portfolio. The billionaire singer also owns two Nashville properties, four neighboring homes in Manhattan's Tribeca district, and a 10,000-square-foot Beverly Hills residence once owned by film mogul Samuel Goldwyn.

Music, not side businesses, built Swift's $1.6 billion fortune. Her 149-show Eras Tour grossed roughly $2 billion, paid her up to $13 million per night, and spawned a $261 million concert film plus lucrative merchandising lines that drew fans even without tickets.

Swift's financial sharpness runs in the family. Her father, Scott Swift, a former Merrill Lynch adviser, moved his wealth-management practice to Tennessee to support her early career.

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