Barstool Sports founder and noted second-home enthusiast Dave Portnoy is not shaking it off when it comes to Rhode Island’s latest real estate bungle — the so-called “Taylor Swift tax.”
Appearing on Fox Business’ Varney & Co., Portnoy called the proposal “government overreach” and warned it could spook luxury buyers across New England. “We don’t like that tax, Stuart,” he said. “I got houses pretty close to Rhode Island. I don’t want those states getting any ideas.”
The tax — formally called the “non-owner-occupied property tax” but unofficially dubbed the “Taylor Swift tax” because of her $17.75 million mansion in Watch Hill — will charge a $2.50 surcharge per $500 of assessed value on second homes over $1 million. For Swift, that could mean an extra $136,000 a year just to keep her beachfront palace guest-free.
To dodge the tax, homeowners can either live in the house for at least half the year or rent it out. Or, as Portnoy put it, “pay a small fortune for the honor of owning something you barely use.”
While Portnoy doesn’t have property in Rhode Island (yet), his $42 million estate in Nantucket — a state record — might be sweating a little. “Now, I will say, if they name the tax in Massachusetts ‘the Dave Portnoy tax,’ my ego might let that slide,” he joked. “That’s the kind of flex I could live with.”
Portnoy, who owns homes in Montauk, Miami, Saratoga Springs, and Nantucket, says he actually uses his houses — unlike some other celebrity homeowners. “I’m not just collecting properties like NFTs. I’m there. I sit in my chairs.”
Swift hasn’t commented, but we’re guessing if she did, it’d rhyme and hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts.
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