BATON ROUGE -- Sen. Eric LaFleur of Ville Platte said Tuesday he will file a bill proposing an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution that would prohibit the imposition of a fee or tax on the sale or transfer of real estate in the State of Louisiana.

Currently, 35 states plus the District of Columbia impose a fee or tax upon the sale or transfer of real estate.

"A real estate transfer tax is effectively taxing Louisiana homeowners or property owners twice. Louisiana property owners already pay annual taxes on the value of their property both personal and business," said LaFleur.

"I think that it is fundamentally unfair to hit property owners again at the time that they choose to sell their property or transfer it to a loved one."

Unlike property taxes, real estate transfer taxes are additional local taxes that are assessed on real estate when ownership of the property is transferred between parties. New Orleans is the only local governing authority in Louisiana that imposes a transfer fee.

"The constitutional amendment that I am proposing would prohibit all other real estate transfer taxes or fees throughout Louisiana except for New Orleans," said Senator LaFleur.

If Senator LaFleur's proposed amendment passes both the House and Senate, the voters of Louisiana would still have to approve it this fall.